Elevator Music
by DawnForever101
Summary: When one life meets another, something will be born. When Dawn and Paul meet, an instant hate is formed. But after they realize they're coincidentally in the same boat, they know they have more in common than they think. Mainly Ikarishipping, but also contestshipping, pokeshipping & oldrivalshipping. AU story set in high school.
1. Prologue

_**Hi guys. I'm here with a new fic and this will be my first ever ikarishipping multi chapter fic. Now, I'm usually a pearlshipper but I wanted to challenge myself with unfamiliarity. I do believe that Paul and Dawn would make a good couple if given the chance.**_

 _ **So welcome to my ikarishipping fic! I hope you guys will enjoy it.**_

* * *

 _ **July 25th; 6:00pm…Shinji Residence. Lumoise, Kalos.**_

The sky was painted a tinted orange. It appeared to be calm and serene; nothing could be heard except the occasional horns of cars and some quiet chatter from some of the residents of Lumoise. This detail contrasted the city's nature however, due to the fact that this city was one that normally never slept.

Or, perhaps, it was another reason why it was so abnormally quiet.

A tall, broad male gruffly entered the kitchen with anything but a smile upon his face. It was more of a scowl, as if he had given up on life already. The plum haired teen gripped a glass from the cabinet and poured himself some water, drinking it and quenching his thirst. He carefully set the glass down and looked around, taking in his surroundings. His expression altered, as if he had never noticed the atmosphere before.

Dirty dishes were left in the sink, the trash had yet to be thrown away and Paul noticed an unpleasant stench forming. As he walked out of the kitchen, his eyebrows raised at the condition of the living room, which appeared to be worse than the kitchen. The thought of his house untidy caused a feeling of bitterness to build in the pit of Paul's stomach.

If Paul were to describe himself in one word, it would be _neat._ He wouldn't call himself a neat freak, of course, but glancing at the moved furniture, books misplaced and thrown recklessly on the floor, unfolded laundry, and broken pieces of glass undoubtedly left a sour taste in his mouth.

As he reluctantly tried to put everything back in order, he realized that he had never felt so alone before. It wasn't a feeling he could normally suppress or put aside, but he knew he had to get accustomed to this reality. It was a harsh and brutal one, and normally it would be Paul's nature to easily accept this kind of life, but judging from the past week, he knew that this would be too much to handle.

Sure, Paul was not the most pleasant person to talk to, or one who you could easily engage in a conversation with. He kept to himself and respected other people's privacy, and he preferred it that way. He wasn't sure if this trait came with birth, but he surely developed this quiet nature growing up with his only older brother, Reggie.

Paul wouldn't reminisce about his childhood. If anything, it was filled with painful memories that made the hole in his heart grow bigger. Growing up with only his older brother as a guardian has to be the most troubled period of time a child can experience, especially after a fatal plane accident that caused their parents' death. He had only known his parents for a couple years, and at the innocent age of nine, he experienced fourteen year old Reggie working constantly to sustain the two of them. They were both financially and emotionally wrecked. They'd had to worry daily about minor things, such as the possibility of having a decent meal.

It didn't stop there. When Paul had finally approached high school, Reggie had already made it into college while managing to keep another job. He'd constantly send additional money to Paul, but he knew he couldn't depend upon Reggie emotionally and financially forever. So in order to sustain himself and not cause Reggie to worry whenever there was a financial crisis, he'd stay after school every day and assist with minor tasks to earn some extra cash. Soon enough that became his weekday job, and the pay was enough to be satisfactory for his basic needs.

Growing up together with Reggie instantly made Paul connected with him more than anyone else. The two were very different in terms of personalities and opinions, but Paul was very grateful for having a brother like him, even though he never admitted it out loud. Like any other siblings, they'd argue, but it wouldn't last too long. Paul would do anything for his older brother and Reggie knew that.

Currently seventeen years old, Paul watched as the sky above turned ominous and grey. He nearly snorted to himself, considering how this depressing weather coincidentally synced with his mood.

They say that behind every grey cloud there was a silver lining.

Streaks of light filled the night sky, and thunder boomed from the rooftops. That was followed with a slow pitter-patter of rain and then suddenly more thunder, almost deafening to his ears.

The plum haired boy clenched his eyes shut and slightly groaned to himself. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't bear another burden.

He glanced at the picture frame placed upon the wall, and he nearly lost control of his emotions at seeing this slightly older version of him. He huffed, clenched and unclenched his fists a number of times. He then let a sigh escape and walked slowly upstairs to his bedroom, every step lifeless and dull.

He didn't manage to sleep that night.

 _ **July 25th; 6:20pm…Berlitz Residence. Lumoise, Kalos.**_

Lying in bed flat on her stomach with a palm against her cheek and her legs in the air was a smiling, cheerful blunette. The female sighed happily to herself, as she grew yet more interested in the book that was placed beneath her on the bed.

It was a perfect day to indulge in a good book, and Dawn proceeded to get comfortable by sitting upright and placing said book in her lap. She ignored the thundering rain against the rooftop as her smile slowly widened.

Any random bystander could take one glance at Dawn and instantly agree that she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her flawlessly smooth and white milky skin was enough to get anyone in a heartbeat. Her eyes were a light shade of blue; almost seeming like a pool that you'd get lost in. To top it off, her silky smooth dark blue hair gave Dawn a greater advantage in terms of beauty than other girls.

A half hour slowly passed, and Dawn sighed happily as she closed her book, satisfied with the ending. She placed the book on her bedside table and crawled over and opened her window slightly to let some cool air in. The blunette rather enjoyed days like these, and she would take every golden opportunity when it knocked, regardless of whether it was a sunny or rainy day. It would seldom rain in the month of July, but when it did she'd always make herself useful by reading.

Reading had become her favorite pastime whenever her mother was busy working. She slowly got accustomed to it ever since her mother became an executive in one of the biggest companies in Kalos. The position required extensive hours, so Dawn would barely see her mother at home. No doubt, being an only child often felt lonely and there wasn't a day she didn't hope for a sibling.

Dawn remembered visiting her mother's workplace one day. She recalled how her mother looked so out of place, and so frustrated. Three years back, her mother was a simple clerk and the job only required very menial tasks and compensation. It was a fortunate day when her mother made an effective and detailed business plan to push them towards greater profits, and she was deemed to have potential. She remembered seeing her mother deprived of many nights of sleep to get where she was now. She had undoubtedly worked hard to reach that esteemed position, and Dawn couldn't be happier for her.

Now she barely saw her mother. The thought saddened her, but she kept in mind that she deserved the position, so not conversing with her for two or three days at a time shouldn't do any harm. But the blunette knew that this was difficult, especially since she had such a strong bond with her mother in a single parent household. She didn't only consider her as her mother, but also her best friend and heaven knew how much she loved her.

Dawn glanced at the clock. Seeing that it was just a minute past seven, she smiled eagerly to herself, her stomach growing warm. Her mother had promised to be home around seven to spend some quality time with her daughter, which Dawn looked forward to. It had almost been a whole month without seeing her mother consistently, so Dawn anticipated her mother's arrival. She hoped to watch some good movies, like they used to. She quickly reminisced watching _The Lion King_ repeatedly on the television screen. She'd lay on her mother's lap while she caressed Dawn's hair lovingly.

She missed those times.

However, fifteen minutes went by and her mother had yet to return. Dawn frowned.

She gazed at the window, noticing the raindrops slowly falling against her window. She quickly composed herself and assured herself that the weather was keeping her back. It may have been wishful thinking, but it _was_ a possibility.

Rain kept pouring, and suddenly Dawn wondered if this rain was going to cease at all. It was half past seven now, and Dawn was growing extremely worried. She didn't care about the promise right now or at least she put that behind her, as she dialled her mother.

By the tenth missed call she knew something was wrong. Dawn knew her mother would always answer her after at most three missed calls, and she also knew her phone was never out of battery.

She quickly took some deep breaths, calming herself down. She grabbed a glass of water from her bedside table to soothe her worked up nerves. While doing so, she continuously told herself that that there was no need to worry and that she was just blowing things out of proportion. There had to be some reasonable explanation.

She nearly jumped when her phone vibrated beneath her on the bed. She gulped, not recognizing the number. She found herself taking shaky breaths, her hands fumbling as she put the phone to her ear, beginning to speak. As the deep voice spoke, a tear flowed down her cheek and the phone fell out of Dawn's grasp as she went into shock, eyes slightly widened.

Her mother never arrived at home that night, and the house was empty after the phone call.

* * *

 ** _So that's the first chapter. It will get more interesting in the later chapters so stick around._**

 ** _If you guys liked this chapter so far, feel free to leave a review or things I can improve on. And suggestions are welcome as well._**

 ** _This won't be my main fic, but don't worry, this will receive attention every once in a while. The next update will come out in the next two weeks or so._**

 ** _Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time. :)_**


	2. When Opposites Meet

**August 25th; 6:30am…Berlitz Residence, Lumoise, Kalos.**

Dawn let a yawn escape as she reached her hand out for her phone on her bedside table, and upon seeing it read half past six, she quickly scurried off to the bathroom, fatigue fading away. She brushed her teeth and then stripped out of her clothes. She carefully stepped in the shower and let the warm water trickle down on her body. After about fifteen minutes, she stepped out and threw on her clothes that she had picked out the previous night.

Dawn glanced at the mirror and her expression remained completely neutral as she eyed herself. As she took a closer look, she nearly flinched when she saw how terrible she looked. She looked unusually pale, her hair had split ends, and bags were beginning to form under her eyes. She sighed.

It was the first day of her senior year of high school.

On any other day, she'd normally wake up with a pleasant and warm smile on her face, anticipating another school year. She'd be eager to see another day and how excited she used to be waking up to the smell of eggs in the morning. The first thing above anything else she'd do was to greet her mother with a kiss on the cheek. She'd feel more appreciated and loved whenever it was returned.

As Dawn toasted a bagel, she realized that things were probably going to change.

 _They had already changed._

Dawn sighed at the thought. She decided to focus her attention on the coffee maker, and how the smell of coffee hit her nostrils. The cool air of August in Lumoise really made coffee the perfect breakfast drink.

The doorbell chimed and Dawn, without even glancing at the door, responded, "Come in." As the door opened, Dawn quickly placed her bagel on a silver plate while she poured milk and sugar in her coffee.

"I'm not ready for school. I swear, summer just started and we're already going back?"

Dawn snickered at her friend's words. Taking a sip of her coffee, she looked over at her neighbour and one of her best friends, Leaf. She had an exasperated expression on her face and Dawn had to bite her lip from laughing at her ridiculous expression and body language.

Dawn's summer had not been the best. That night when she had gotten that mysterious phone call, everything changed. She had been informed by a local policeman that her mother had gotten into a car accident. She had never been so shocked and terrified in her life. When went to the scene to confirm, that indeed, it had been her mother, she felt worthless.

She recalled being tense and getting more apprehensive in the waiting room at the hospital for hours. She tried hoping for the best and prayed everything would be alright. If anything happened to her mother…she'd be heartbroken. Never had she imagined her mother would be in a hospital bed, fighting for her life.

It had been over six hours when she finally heard an update about her mother. It was midnight when her world came crashing down. She had fallen to her knees in complete despair, crying uncontrollably. She felt herself grow weaker and even the doctor had managed to spare a sad glance at the poor girl.

Her mother was in a coma.

She could barely believe her ears, and her heart had swollen when the doctor had told her that her chances of waking up were very bleak. Apparently, the impact of the crash caused a deep wound on her forehead, resulting in a rare phenomenon.

Dawn had never seen herself so shaken up before. When she walked in her mother's room, she instantly wished to be in her place. She had taken slow, careful steps to the fragile woman lying on the bed, as if she was scared she'd lose her right there. Her forehead was bandaged up and Dawn knew she had several bruises and cuts on her body. Her heart had raced and no amount of words could describe how terrified Dawn had been for her mom. She had fallen asleep right next to her mother, hoping a miracle would occur when she woke up the next morning.

However, when she woke up, everything remained the same. Her mother was lifelessly still on the bed and Dawn frowned. Of course, miracles were a bizarre thought, but the thought of one happening was very much on Dawn's mind. She couldn't let her mother go…she wouldn't in a lifetime. She stared down at her, the only sound being heard was the occasional beeping from the monitor screen. She closed her eyes. She had to be strong, for herself and her mother.

Before she knew it, August was slowly reaching its end. Dawn had never seemed to accept this reality, and she'd find herself visiting her mother every week. She had never received any updates from the doctor about her, good or bad, and the thought had traumatized her. She'd have constant questions running through her head every time she visited, and none were answered.

When will she wake up?

Will she wake up?

What if she doesn't? What happens then?

"Dawn!" Leaf cried at Dawn's lack of response, but then frowned seeing tears develop in Dawn's eyes. She gave Dawn a sympathetic smile before reaching out to hug the blunette. Dawn stilled for only a second before she let loose and started to cry. Leaf wasn't surprised the slightest when she realized part of her top was getting wet.

"Dawn, please stop crying." She soothed her, but Dawn couldn't control it. She had been holding her emotions in a bottle after vowing to herself that she wouldn't cry. But when she saw Leaf, she couldn't hold back anymore. "Dawn, stop!" Leaf yelled, effectively making Dawn stop crying uncontrollably, but she was still sniffling.

She pulled away slowly from the brunette's embrace. "I-I'm sorry." She mumbled, wiping her tears with the palm of her hand. "It's just…" She trailed off, fumbling with her words.

"You don't need to say anything, Dawn." Leaf quickly interrupted, offering her a small smile. "I know it's hard…but you have to be strong. I know your mom would want the same thing for you."

Dawn sighed. "I know, Leaf. You've been there for me after I told you about it." She bit her lip worriedly, "But what if she doesn't wake-"

"Dawn, stop being pessimistic. You need to wish the best for your mom. And trust me, when your mom wakes up, you'll never be happier."

Dawn knew that this piece of advice from Leaf was wishful thinking, and she didn't know if she was being truthful or not. But regardless, any positivity caused a pleasant warm feeling to grow in her stomach. Leaf had been her sole confidant through the rest of the summer. Because Dawn had found herself to be lonely and deprived of happiness, Leaf had done what any good friend would do, and lent a supportive, whether it be pouring their feelings out, letting Dawn cry on her shoulder, or inviting Dawn over.

"Okay. Wipe your tears, because we are going to school together for our first day at senior year. Just like any other school day," she said, as she held on to her backpack and gestured for the blunette to walk along with her.

Dawn managed to let a small smile slip onto her lips as the two females exited the house.

Maybe _some_ things remained the same.

* * *

Dawn hugged herself through the chilly wind and felt a small shiver go down her spine. She should've worn a jacket. She groaned internally-the weather was really unpredictable at times. She looked at her brown-haired friend and nearly giggled to see Leaf walking in blue capris and a sleeveless top.

"I still don't understand how you're immune to the cold. It's freezing out here!" Dawn commented.

She smirked. "I still can't believe you get goosebumps over a small cold wind. It's barely freezing. In fact, I feel really hot."

Dawn narrowed her eyes. She knew that Leaf was trying to get under her skin. "Whatever." She huffed. Leaf smiled victoriously to herself. She was trying her best to change her friend's demeanor. She wasn't used to seeing Dawn so helpless and weak. If a little teasing helped divert her mind, then she wouldn't refrain from doing so.

"So, Dawn, it's our last year of high school." Leaf reminded her. "Are you excited?"

Dawn's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Yeah! One more year and it's off to college!" She exclaimed.

"Mhm." Leaf nodded. "What college do you plan on going to?"

She halted for a while. Leaf saw her purse her lips, as if the thought of college had just come to mind. If it had, she didn't blame her. After all, Dawn had been through a lot these last few days and Leaf wouldn't exactly expect her to be thinking about her future.

"I don't know…have you decided yet?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm going to try to apply after a few weeks."

Dawn nodded and the two girls resumed walking. For a while, she slowly forgot about her mother and started to ponder her future. Where would she go after this? What did she aim to be in life?

Those questions were running through her head as the two girls approached the school building.

* * *

 **7:30am**

Paul clicked the car door open, reached in and started the car. He checked his rearview mirrors before sighing and putting it in drive. His foot pressed against the pedal as he went for the road. Usually, the radio would be on and some relaxing music would be playing, but Paul preferred peace and quiet. Truth be told, turning on the radio in the car was almost as annoying as nails on a chalkboard.

After driving for ten minutes, he parked the car in the school parking lot. He closed the car door behind him and started to walk, but suddenly stopped. Something was missing. He slowly exhaled in annoyance as he realized he had forgotten his backpack in the car. Muttering bitterly to himself, he unlocked the car and reached inside to grab it.

"Hey, Paul!"

Taken completely by surprise, Paul accidentally knocked his head against the roof of the car. He gritted his teeth in anger and rubbed his head slightly to soothe the pain. He turned around to shoot a glare at the person.

The chartreuse haired teen sheepishly smiled, "Sorry about that. Are you okay, man?"

Paul grunted in response.

Drew nearly sweatdropped, "So I still see you're the same as ever."

Instead of responding, Paul ignored the male and walked away into the school building with a neutral expression on his face, his backpack around his back. He was hoping silently that Drew had gotten the message that he didn't want to talk right now.

"So how was your summer, man? It's been a while since I've heard from you." Paul heard Drew say from behind him suddenly. He clenched his fists slightly, irritated. He was debating whether to insult the guy, continue to ignore him, or just respond.

After a moment, he said, "…It's been fine."

Drew looked satisfied at the response so he poured more questions to his plum haired friend, "Our final year of high school, Paul, I can hardly believe it. Can you?"

"Hn."

Drew chuckled lightly. At times, Drew found his lack of words to be amusing, however sometimes he'd find it annoying. But Drew knew that Paul was a person who didn't socialize much and kept to himself.

"So, what's your first class?"

Paul glanced at his schedule. "History." He replied simply.

"My first class is English with Ms. Brooks. Anyways, so let me tell you about my summer-"

As Drew continued talking, Paul eventually blocked him out as he opened his locker for his books he'd need for the next few periods. He groaned internally. He wondered why he was friends with the teen behind him. On the other hand, he never thought someone would even consider being his friend. He knew he lacked social skills and he knew it was difficult for him to converse with anybody besides his brother. And to top it off, it was extremely difficult to express his feelings to anybody. There were multiple times where engaging an emotional conversation with Reggie proved to be almost impossible. He closed his locker and faced his companion before he realized he was still talking.

"And then she puts mustard on the hot dog! She knows how much I hate mustard!" Paul heard Drew exclaim. How he had transitioned to this type of conversation he had no idea, but he had no intention of finding out.

The two males heard the bell ring and Drew bid goodbye to Paul, who just acknowledged him by raising his hand as he walked to his class.

* * *

 **12:30pm**

Dawn exhaled as she sat down on one of the cafeteria tables, with a tray in her hand. The blunette despised cafeteria food. For some reason, it always tasted bland, and so she'd normally bring her own lunch. She had unfortunately forgotten to pack lunch this time, but she always carried around extra cash for emergencies.

"Hey." Dawn heard her brunette friend say as she sat across from Dawn.

"How were your classes this morning?" Dawn spoke, trying to spark up a conversation.

"Not bad. I had gym today. We played dodgeball. Girls verses boys." Leaf added with a smirk and Dawn raised any eyebrow expectantly.

"We creamed them!" Leaf cheered and Dawn laughed. "So, how were your classes?"

"It was alright." She shrugged. "My advanced math teacher gave us a test today."

Leaf's eyes bulged out in shock. "What?! On the first day of school?"

"Yeah, but it was to test what you knew from last year." She glanced down at the floor for a brief second and then eyed Leaf. "I don't think I did well."

"No need to worry," Leaf said with a smile and Dawn giggled hearing that coming from the brunette.

Dawn found herself fumbling with her hands as she devoured her mashed potatoes. For some reason, math was her weakest subject. She couldn't comprehend the practical reason why math was necessary in life. In her opinion, solving for 'x' and finding the hypotenuse of a triangle wouldn't exactly structure her future out.

"Oh, Dawn! I forgot to tell you." Leaf suddenly said, recalling something significant for both of them. "May's going to be moving to this school to complete her senior year."

Dawn's jaw dropped at that statement. Her blue eyes were gleaming with excitement. "That's awesome!"

Leaf's cousin, May, was really good friends with Dawn. Similar to Leaf, May was a lovely brunette and she had Dawn's eyes, except they were a lighter blue. She often wore a red bandana tied around her hair. Every summer, May would visit Leaf from Hoenn and the three girls looked forward to spending some time with each other.

"When will she be here?" Dawn probed.

"Tomorrow. She couldn't make it today." Leaf explained.

"I can't wait to see May. We're going to have so much fun together." Dawn said, as she took a spoonful of pasta in her mouth. Leaf instantly smiled. Seeing Dawn form a friendly smile on her cheeks was something she anticipated today and she was ecstatic to see the blunette back to her normal self…for now.

* * *

Paul huffed cautiously as he turned a page. There were some random shuffles and some quiet chatter to be heard. He uncapped his pen and scribbled something down intently on a piece of paper placed on the desk. Paul thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on his history worksheet that was assigned for homework, due to time constraints.

After a while, he pulled out his phone and noticed it was fifteen minutes before his next class. He drummed his fingers against the desk in a rhythmic motion. He then made a mental note to himself to pick up a good book he'd been eyeing. He was in the library, after all.

"Paul."

Paul eyed the source of the voice and blinked seeing the familiar face. He nodded to acknowledge the librarian and she smiled.

"Same time?" The cheerful blonde asked, although she had a hunch what his response would be.

"I'll be there." He responded.

"Great. All you need to do today is sort out some books and files. Should take you at least an hour," she stated. She waited for a response, and Paul nodded simply before she walked away.

Paul took out his schedule and noticed his last class ended at three in the afternoon. Satisfied, he closed his eyes and exhaled. His shift started at four every day for the week. His average hours were good and usually he'd reach home at around nine, or, if he had additional tasks, ten. Therefore, Paul would always find himself fatigued every night. He'd have limited time to complete his assignments or to study, so the best choice was to do schoolwork in the library every day at lunch time. Of course, if he had the opportunity to change this, he would.

But he assumed he'd have additional time today, since he'd be out in an hour's time. The plum-haired teen decided what he'd do this evening. He had planned this for a while, but during the summer, he obtained another job out of school and that required extensive hours and limited time even for himself. Though, he wouldn't complain, because the salary he received was more than satisfactory.

Paul didn't even realize the bell had already rung before other students gathered their respective belongings and ventured out of the library. How long had he been lost in his thoughts? He shook his head disapprovingly as he made his way to Spanish class.

* * *

 **2:15pm**

"Class, here I have this history worksheet. It's based on the topics that we've discussed so far. Your task is to complete it. Since it is a rather long worksheet, I suggest you get started on it right now." Mr. Johnson said, as he began to hand out the worksheets.

Dawn held the worksheet in her hand and then skimmed through the pages. The blunette slowly widened her eyes when she realized it was about ten pages long. She grumbled a few choice words, irritated at the amount of work. Deciding to follow Mr. Johnson's advice, she got started on the worksheet. Her history textbook provided some additional information, in case she was unsure of anything.

However, when she glanced at the third page, she came across several questions that she had absoultely no knowledge of. Scrunching her eyebrows in confusion, she blew a breath as she began to search in her textbook. She had a disappointed look when she closed it, unable to find any relative topics.

She eyed Mr. Johnson. When he wasn't looking, she gestured to her brunette friend sitting beside her, "Leaf. Do you know the answers to the questions on page three?"

Leaf raised her eyebrows. "I'm still on page one."

Dawn rolled her eyes and whispered, "Never mind, then."

Dawn looked at the length of the worksheet and sighed. She'd have to do additional research.

For now, she skipped those questions and decided to work on those questions she was familiar with. She made a mental note to make a quick stop to the library later before she went home.

She diverted her mind to her mother for a brief second. Clenching her jaw slightly, she wondered how long her mother would suffer in that hospital room and how long she'd spend her nights alone. She didn't like being alone. For some reason, it was a scary feeling...one that she couldn't decipher.

"Okay class." Dawn shot her head up to Mr. Johnson, who had managed to break her thought process, "you guys are free to leave. And a reminder, these worksheets are to be completed for tomorrow, and will be graded. Dismissed."

Once all the students had piled out of the class, Dawn exited, carrying her belongings with her.

"Hey Dawn, are you going home now?" Leaf asked from behind her.

Dawn hadn't realized Leaf was behind her. She turned to face her and shook her head slightly. "No. I'm going to the library to do some research."

"Oh, okay. Well, I have to get going. My mom needs me at home. I'll see you later." Leaf said, smiling at the blunette. Dawn nodded, and the two females shared a friendly hug before they bid goodbye.

* * *

Dawn tilted her head slightly. She had never found herself so lost and helpless.

And that too, in a library.

She was currently standing in front of the 'History' section with a finger on her chin. She managed to notice some books out of place and it was very disorganized, to say the least. She slowly reached for a book, and gripped it but flinched when some other articles and books fell to the floor. She groaned slightly, picking them up.

"Need some help?"

Dawn whipped her head around to see the librarian, who had an amused expression.

"Yeah," she said desperately. "I'm looking for a history book to work on an assignment. I'm looking for a specific topic." She glanced at the shelf and placed the books neatly on the shelf. "I can't seem to find it though."

"I'll help you out. I'm sorry about the mess. You can't find any relative books because they've not been sorted yet. It should be much more accessible once my employee gets here in an hour." She said matter-of-factly.

"Okay." Dawn nodded.

After a half hour, Dawn had gotten all the information she needed. With a breath of relief, she turned to the librarian with a grateful smile, "Thanks for helping me out. I really appreciate it," she said.

"No worries! You can call me Gretchen, by the way." She responded cheerfully.

"Okay. I'm Dawn. It was nice meeting you, Gretchen, and thanks for helping me out," Dawn said, glancing at the history books in her handbag.

"You're welcome," Gretchen said with a warm smile on her face as she watched Dawn leave with the handbag in her hand.

* * *

After a short while, Paul walked into the library with a sour look on his face. His last two classes devoured the life out of him and he just didn't have the energy or motivation to work for another hour. However, he knew that there was no other choice.

"Ah, hey Paul." Gretchen cheered. "You're right on time to sort out all of these." She gestured to the shelves above Paul's head. His expression worsened when he noticed the workload.

"If we don't sort them out, then it'll just get worse, right? Plus, a girl was here earlier and she was having a really hard time finding a book for her research. Luckily I was able to help her out."

"Hn." Paul grunted, as he closed his eyes. Although it may have sounded bitter, he really didn't know what else to say.

Gretchen giggled. "You always know what to say, Paul. Anyways, let's get started. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Paul nodded, agreeing with her, and the two started to sort the books.

* * *

 **6:00pm. Dawn's residense.**

"Finally finished," Dawn said with a breath of relief, throwing her pen on the table. She proceeded to wipe the sweat upon her forehead and as such blew her blue bangs up with a breath or two, then reached for a napkin to wipe her face. She hadn't realized when the temperature began to get warm.

She looked over her work for a few minutes, and when she was satisfied, she headed towards the kitchen, deciding to get a quick snack.

But when she passed the hallway, her blue eyes couldn't help but to glance at the photo frame of her mom on the wall. She could see an image of herself through her mom. She looked just like her. Her heart weakened a little and tears began to form in her eyes.

She narrowed her eyes and then blinked, her tears fading. She grabbed her purse and headed outside, locking the door behind her.

She was going to see her mother today.

And despite her mother being in a coma, she had planned to tell her how her first day of her senior year went. They had always talked about school, and Dawn intended to keep it that way.

Because Dawn knew that no matter what, she'd always listen.

Soon enough, Dawn stared at the building penetrating the sky above her. Much to Dawn's luck, the hospital wasn't too far away from where she lived. This made each and every visit much more accessible. The blunette exhaled before she walked in with a composed look on her face.

As she walked up to the front desk, memories of that night came flooding back. She remembered how lost she had been. She remembered falling to her knees and wailing for her mother. Her eyes were wavering when she recalled her mother going up to the ICU unit.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Huh?" Dawn blinked. She then smiled sheepishly. "Oh...I'm so sorry! My name is Dawn Berlitz. I'm here to see my mother, Johanna," she told the female clerk.

Dawn waited as she clicked and typed on the computer screen in front of her. "Okay...Johanna Berlitz. Right, she's in the ICU room at the moment. You can take the elevator up to the 8th floor," she told her. Dawn nodded and went straight for the elevator. Sometimes she wished she could skip all the formal procedures and paperwork, but she put that thought behind her as she pressed the button on the elevator.

When the doors opened, she walked in, clutching her purse tightly. She unzipped it and checked the time. When she glanced up, she slightly widened her eyes to see a male in the elevator as well. Dawn pursed her lips. When had he come in?

To add to her surprise, she noticed that he had pressed '8' and she assumed that he was going up to the same floor.

A little rythmic music in the elevator ride soothed Dawn's ears and she watched the numbers change.

1...2...

Dawn glanced at the broad stranger beside her. She could inhale the scent of cologne and for some reason, it gave a her feeling of satisfaction.

3...4...

His hands were in his pockets and his breathing was still and heavy. He licked his lips.

5...6...

Dawn made a remarkable note about the stranger's hair. Sure, it was a bizarre color, but for some reason it was very familiar. Why did he look so familiar?

7...8.

The doors opened with a 'ding' and Dawn watched as the stranger began walking out. Dawn slightly parted her lips as realization struck her.

"Hey, wait!" Dawn called out to him. He turned around and raised an eyebrow.

She walked up closer for an accurate observation and she snapped her finger for emphasis. "I know you!"

He didn't say anything but he expected her to continue, almost interested to see where this was going to lead to.

"You're...Paul. Paul Shinji."

* * *

 ** _So there you guys have the second chapter. What'd you think? Leave a review below and share what you liked or disliked about it. And now since I'm back to school, updates will be random. But thanks for reading and just like always, I'll see you guys next time. :)_**


	3. Insensitive

**Chapter 3**

All Paul could manage to do was simply stare at the girl. He hadn't even been out of the elevator for five minutes and he was already being succumbed to talking to people. Though, he really didn't know what to say but that didn't mean he wasn't curious. He had never seen this girl before.

Dawn continued when she realized he wasn't going to respond. "Yeah! I've seen you around in school and I happen to know you're really good at math."

Paul scrunched his eyebrows at her. He didn't expect that. Then again, he didn't know what to expect. But he took one more glance at the girl and when he didn't recognize her at all, he wondered if he had spent all his time in some dark hole.

Of course he didn't know her. He wouldn't know her, because he spent most of his time in the library and his only friend was Drew. In fact, he was slightly shocked that she would see someone like him around. It's not as if he'd spend his time lurking around in the hallways.

"By the way," Dawn added, "what are you doing at the hospital?" she asked.

Dawn noticed the tall male slightly clenching his jaw and he grew tense as he turned away from her. She hoped she didn't insult the guy, all _**she**_ intended to do was make small talk. But then she noticed that she had been the one doing all the talking in the first place.

"It's none of your business," He said indifferently in a fit of rage before walking the other way, leaving a surprised blunette.

If anything, Dawn was furious. She only asked a simple question, so why did he react in that manner? She had never seen someone with such a cold and disrespectful attitude.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and decided to focus on the true reason she came here in the first place. She walked forward a little until she stared up at a door in front of her. Recognizing the ICU room, she took small breaths before walking in.

As usual, she felt herself shrink every single time she walked into the room and she was constantly reminded of the possibility that her mother could no longer be with her. However, she managed to compose herself quickly and walk towards the older looking woman that laid on the bed. Dawn eyed the nurse, whom she had seen the first day she came here as Elisa, before looking at her mother. Dawn could only notice that her mother was _still_ pale, weak and fragile and there wasn't a single moment where she wished that she'd wake up.

"Hey, mom," she said, her voice breaking a little. Dawn sat on the corner of her bed, not taking her eyes off of her mother. "Today was the first day of my senior year of high school."

Johanna didn't respond, but somehow Dawn knew she was listening. She placed her purse on the bedside table.

"Can you believe it, mom? My last year of high school!" The blunette exclaimed. "Where did the time go?"

Dawn looked up at Elisa, who spared her a sad smile before she looked back at her mother. She heard the monitor beep occasionally and she closed her eyes. Dawn took her mother's lifeless hand in hers. "Anyways, my day was good. Only except I had a lot of homework to do. Senior year's going to be difficult...but I know I can do it," she managed to say, rubbing her fingers against her mother's one. "I still have you around. I know I do."

Dawn blinked in order for her tears to fade away and she sighed sadly. "And, I have some other news. You remember May, right?"

Silence. She could only hear sheer silence. But Dawn lightly smiled. "Well," she said, "she's going to complete her senior year of high school with Leaf and I, mom! Isn't that great? It's going to be so awesome!" She cheered. "You always loved May as if she was your other daughter as well. I remember when Leaf, May and I were running around the house and she slipped. You were so worried," she continued with a laugh at the memory. "I'm sure she misses you."

Dawn raised her mother's hand and kissed the palm before sighing. "Don't worry about me, mom. I'll be fine. Leaf told me earlier that I have to be strong and she's right. I have to be brave for you because I know that...you'll wake up. And when you do, I won't be happier," she said, gently setting her mother's hand on the bed.

She rose from the bed and said, "I love you, mom." She smiled before looking at Elisa, who seemed to be getting emotional at this mother-daughter talk.

"You're a very brave person. Your mother would have been so proud," Elisa said, smiling at the blunette.

Dawn shook her head. "Nah. She's already proud of me," she said, glancing at her mother before looking at Elisa again. "I think I should go, though. It's getting late."

Elisa nodded. "Yeah and no need to worry, your mother is in safe hands," she said.

Dawn nodded. "Right." She bid Elisa goodbye and walked up to where her mother was and softly kissed her on the forehead before whispering, "Bye mom. I'll see you later." She then bid goodbye another time to Elisa before walking out the door.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Dawn pressed the elevator button. Somehow she felt relieved to talk to her mother about her day. It made her feel as if she was still around. It felt just like good old times where she'd come back from school and tell her mom how her day went. She smiled at the thought. A 'ding' shook her thoughts away and she entered the enclosed room, but before she turned around to press the floor number, she paused slightly.

"Paul?" She exclaimed in disbelief.

He didn't seem to notice her before and when he did at her voice, he slightly groaned. What was she doing here again? He only ignored her and pressed the ground floor button before standing in a still position.

Dawn blinked. She knew he was ignoring her presence and her eyebrow twitched at the thought. "What's your problem? Why are you being so rude?" She asked.

She heard him sigh, and her anger had escalated when she realized that it was a slight growl. She couldn't believe she had to deal with this.

"Listen-" Dawn stopped herself short when the lights went out and she felt the ground below her feet come to a sudden stop. The elevator had stopped moving and she could no longer hear the soothing music that was catchy enough to hum to. She slowly widened her eyes in realization.

"Oh my god! We're trapped!" Dawn exclaimed, in fear. Her heartbeat started to accelerate more and she noticed she was taking small, shaky breaths. She was not well versed with the idea of being trapped in a small confined space.

She suddenly realized she wasn't the only one in here. "Paul! Do something, we're trapped, it's dark in here and I can't see anything!"

He hesitated to reply. Dawn furrowed her eyebrows at this. How could he remain so calm at a situation like this? It seemed as if this guy didn't flinch at anything...

She heard a button being pressed instead and she assumed Paul had been pressing the red emergency button. She nearly face-palmed. Why didn't she think of that? But he groaned, probably because the emergency button wouldn't work due to the blackout.

"Great! Now we're stuck in here. What are we going to do?" She crossed her arms, thinking. Surely, somebody must have indeed noticed the blackout and they'd be sending maintenance soon, right?

"Call somebody," She heard Paul say. She widened her eyes.

He did have a point, but who would she call? She parted her lips in realization. Of course...she could call Elisa, the two were pretty close after all and Dawn knew her shift didn't end until later at night. She reached for her purse, but gasped.

"My purse! Where'd it-" The blunette groaned as she recalled where she had last left her purse. "Oh no, I left in the ICU on my mom's bed and my phone is in there!"

Paul exhaled as he rolled his eyes. How could she be so irresponsible? He mentally groaned. He couldn't be stuck with someone like her for too long. He just hoped he wouldn't.

"Umm...can I borrow your phone?" He heard her say.

He knitted his eyebrows together. "What?"

"Can I borrow your phone? You know...so I can call somebody..." she said, and Paul sighed.

Paul didn't need a specific reason to keep a phone with him. It would be a waste of money and time and to add to that, he didn't have that much acquaintances to keep in contact with. "I don't have one," he replied bitterly.

"What? How can you _not_ have a phone? Did it break or something?" She probed.

Paul didn't know why but he had never found himself so aggravated in his life and that too, with someone he didn't even _know._ Hell, he didn't even know the girl's name to begin with and she was already getting on his nerves for some reason.

"If I had one, I'd keep it in my possession where it's safe and not leave it lying around like a complete idiot," he muttered and Dawn's jaw dropped.

"I didn't leave it lying around! I left in the ICU room on my mom's bed in my purse!" She retorted.

"Which is completely idiotic of you," he said.

Dawn popped a vein. She couldn't believe he was insulting her, as if being trapped in the elevator was entirely her fault. "Look, I don't know what you think of yourself, but I'd like to be treated with respect. I'm not any girl who's going to just stand here and take all the insults you throw at me, understand?"

Paul huffed, which made Dawn even furious but at least he remained quiet. She let out a few small breaths and slowly composed herself. She'd never expected to be in a situation like this and be trapped with one of the most insensitive jerks she had ever met in her life. She sighed and sat down on the cold floor, crossing her legs in the process while Paul remained standing with his hands in his pockets, as if he didn't have the slightest care in the world.

How long was she going to be in here with him?

"No need to worry...no need to worry," she whispered to herself.

Paul glanced at her on the ground and muttered, "Pathetic." A girl should not be so overdramatic about a small situation like this. Though, he wasn't rather excited being trapped in here. He was expected to be home now and doing worthwhile things, instead of arguing with the melodramatic queen behind him. Paul considered himself to be rater logical at most situations and he wouldn't resort to panicking. He just remained calm and decided to wait, considering the failure of both the emergency alarm and telephone.

"Hello! Is anybody in there?"

Dawn immediately sprang to her feet, joyous to the fact that someone had come to their rescue. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "We're trapped in here, please get us out as soon as possible!" She approached towards the elevator doors so her voice could be better heard from outside.

"I'm afraid we cannot do anything until the lights are back on. But in the meantime, please stay calm," the male voice said.

"Okay..." Dawn said apprehensively, "but when are the lights coming back on?" the blunette asked. Paul rolled his eyes at the idiotic question brought up, as if he was the relevant source of information.

"I'm not sure...it could take one or two hours, but I recommend you just stay calm and wait," the man advised.

Dawn nodded and decided to make herslef comfortable and once again sat down cross legged on the floor beneath her.

Paul remained in a stiff position, refusing to look anywhere except a portion of the wall that he could slightly see (well he assumed it was a wall he was facing) and remained neutral. He briefly wondered what sinful act he had committed in the past to be treated like this and spend a few hours in here with someone really pathetic behind him. He didn't deserve to be here.

He heard a cough, and it was followed by a voice. "So..since we're going to be here a while, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm-"

"I didn't ask." He quickly cut in, and Dawn shifted her feet, feeling a bit insulted.

She blew a breath angrily. Was there a particular reason he was so _insensitive and cold?_

"Look, I'm just trying to make small talk. We're going to be in here for a while, so we could spend the time talking," she said, giving a suggestion. It seemed as if Paul was hesitating what to say and she sighed, coming to the conclusion that she shouldn't even bother.

"That's a waste of my time." Dawn heard Paul say and she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She stood up to her feet and she was facing Paul's back now while he still faced the wall. "When we're out of here, that's it. I go back to my life and you go back to yours. It's not likely that we'll meet again."

Dawn was taken aback from his words. She never would have thought he'd say something like that. Paul was a really tough person to narrow down and understand, and after spending some time in the elevator with him, she knew that he was really complicated. Sighing, she crossed her arms, not saying anything. But then again, he did have a point. What are the chances that they'd encounter themselves in the near future? Today was nothing more than just a mere coincidence.

* * *

An hour passed without a word to be said from either of them. It had been an excruciating hour for Dawn and she had already grown restless. She was hungry, tired and sleepy. After what Paul had said to her, she treated Paul nothing more than just a mere stranger and remained silent. She glanced at Paul, and rolled her eyes when she realized that he'd been standing still for the entire hour. She couldn't help but to notice that all he did was breathe silently and slightly shift his feet or standing position but he refused to sit down for some reason.

She widened her eyes in realization when the floor beneath her started to shake slightly and she smiled. Rising up to her feet, she was overjoyed when the lights came back on the elevator resumed. She sighed in relief and when she glanced at Paul, she noticed a slight change in demeanor, as if he was relieved as well.

The doors opened shortly afterwards and Dawn stepped out after Paul did. He didn't even take one glance at her and stepped out of the building immediately with his hands in his pockets.

She scoffed silently to herslef. She would never understand someone like him. She shouldn't have tried to make any sort of conversation with the guy in the first place.

She was about to walk forward when she realized that her purse was still in the ICU unit. Facepalming, she turned around to step back in the elevator when she suddenly decided against it. In no way was she thinking about stepping in an elevator for a while now. Taking a breath, she approached the stairs.

After a few flights of stairs, she hurriedly ran towards the room and was about to push the door open, when Elisa had beat her to it.

"Dawn, you're still here! Okay, that's good because you left your purse in here," she said, holding up the brown leather purse in front of the blunette's eyes. Dawn grasped it in her hand.

"I know! I was stuck in the elevator for an hour," she said, frowning.

"Oh, you poor thing! I was about to leave because my shift had ended, but I just wanted to check on your mother again and I noticed that your purse was left behind," Elisa said.

Dawn sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you so much, Elisa. I'm so glad you were still here. And could you make a recommendation to the staff to fix their emergency alarm and telephone? Because frankly, it sucks," she said exasperatedly. Elisa stifled a small laugh, but Dawn frowned, indicating that she was serious. It hadn't been the best hour in there, especially with Sir Grumps a Lot.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a smile.

"I guess I'll go home now. I'll see you next week. Take care of mom for me."

"I will."

* * *

Dawn snuggled closer to her pillow and let out a soft smile. The birds were chirping a melodious tune and the sun had risen a few minutes ago. It was serene and peaceful. Relaxing.

 _Ding-Dong!_

* * *

The blunette opened her eyes and slightly groaned. She glanced at her phone and noticed it was six. She hadn't realized it was morning already. She yawned and lazily got out of bed, stretching her arms in the process. To be honest, she wanted to sleep in today, but of course, she knew Leaf wouldn't let her. She knew Leaf rang the doorbell every morning and sometimes that'd be an alarm to wake her up.

 _Ding-Dong, Ding-Dong!_

Dawn rolled her eyes. She trudged towards the door, her sleepyness not fading away. She grew a little annoyed when the doorbell rang for a third time. "I'm coming, sheesh. Hold your horses," she said, opening the door, "Six AM is really not a good time for me, Leaf, I thought we established-" the blunette stopped herself short, and then changed expressions immediately. "May!" She exclaimed in delight.

"Dawn!" The cheerful brunette replied and the two girls shared a hug.

"Oh my gosh...I can't believe you're here already!" Dawn said, after the two broke the hug. She noticed May wearing a long sleeved black top with some white jeans. Her brown hair was wrapped in a bandana.

May winked. "I always knew you loved surprises," she said. "I caught an early flight," she explained and Dawn nodded in understanding.

"When did you reach?" Dawn asked.

"A half hour ago. I told my mom and dad that I wanted to see you right away and I couldn't help myself. It's been way too long!" May continued.

Dawn nodded. "It certainly has. Does Leaf know you're here already?"

"No. I want to surprise her as well. Can you keep a secret?" She winked.

"Of course I can, now come on in and let's catch up on life!" Dawn suggested, and the the door closed behind them.

* * *

"I had never been so scared in my life. That was a cruel and unusual punishment," Leaf commented to the other two girls beside her. Dawn only laughed as a reply, as did May, and Leaf couldn't help but scowl. When arriving at Dawn's place later, she had made herself comfortable as usual and asked for a cup of coffee from Dawn. When she noticed May serving the cup to her, the two girls nearly flinched when they heard the loudest emitting scream from Leaf. And it was a memory they'd never forget.

"Aww, Leaf, you know you're glad to see me," May said smugly towards the brunette.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Leaf retorted.

"We wanted to surprise you," Dawn protested and May nodded in agreement.

"There's a difference between surprises and shocks 'ya know," Leaf said, rolling her eyes in the process. "I'd expect this from May, but _you,_ Dawn?" She asked in disbelief.

Dawn merely shrugged and raised her hands in a defensive manner. "For the record, I was really surprised as well."

"Anyways," Leaf drawled out, "so we should be heading to school now. Are you coming with us, May?" She looked towards the brunette.

"Yeah! I texted my mom earlier and told her I was walking with you guys to school. And no need to worry, I'm prepared," May said, pointing to her backpack.

"Hey, that's my line!" Dawn exclaimed, giggling in the process. The two girls rolled their eyes, effectively making Dawn laugh.

Dawn couldn't be happier than to be bonding with her two best friends. It had felt just like old times. She found herself more elated with them and she realized she hadn't felt this way in a while. Smiling at the thought, she grabbed her backpack while the other two did the same.

"Hey Dawn...where's your mom? Is she at work?" May asked.

The blunette and bruntte flinched at the question and Leaf looked at Dawn with sympathy in her eyes. Dawn could only help but wonder why Leaf hadn't told her what happened in the past two months.

"Eh...yeah," Dawn managed to say, "You know my mom. She's always working and...whatnot," she said, her eyes suddenly to the floor now.

May raised an eyebrow. She noticed that Dawn's demeanor had changed when the topic was brought up. "Is something wrong?" She asked tentatively.

Dawn looked up. "No! Nothing, there's no need to worry!" She exclaimed and without another word, she stepped out of the house to avoid eye contact with May. She sighed internally. May was a second daughter to her mom and she intended not to ruin her day with depressing news as her mom being in a coma. It wasn't the right time for it to be disclosed to her just yet.

* * *

"Wow, some things have changed since the last time I visited here," May said as the three girls sat down on one of the cafeteria tables. The brunette was referring to new improvemts like a new computer lab, gym, and library. She glanced at the food on her tray. "But the food is still terrible," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. That's why I brought lunch." Dawn pulled out a food container and smirked.

"Me too." Leaf did the same.

May refrained from rolling her eyes, but slightly smiled. "So anyways, what class do you guys have next?"

Leaf was the first to reply. "Biology. I hate that class."

"Why?" Dawn questioned, as she bit into her grilled cheese. "Biology's not that bad," she said.

"I know, but Mr. Oak assigned Gary to be my lab partner for the rest of the semester and you all know how much I _despise_ him," Leaf said. However, Dawn and May both wiggled their eyebrows in suggestion, effectively making Leaf roll her eyes.

"Maybe it's fate," Dawn said with a bit of hinting.

Leaf nearly chocked on her water. "What?! You guys are crazy."

"At least we're not crazy in love..." May teased.

"Are you suggesting I love Gary?" Leaf asked in disbelief.

"No, not at all," Dawn said.

"We _know_ you love Gary," May said, a smirk forming on her lips. The two girls slightly laughed at Leaf's expression. She had her palm against her forehead probably from embarrassment. She should have known better than to bring the topic up when she was always teased about him by her friends. But, of course, she was aware that she would never succumb to the likes of Mr. Oak's grandson for several reasons.

"I'm going to get some juice.," May announced as she stood up on her feet.

Dawn perked up. "I'll come with you. I need to wash my hands anyways," she said and the two girls walked away. Leaf decided to get her books she'd need for the following periods and exited the cafteria.

When she approached the hallways, she quickly found her locker and took out the relative books. Almost a whole stack of books had been held securely by her two palms and as she walked forward, she felt herself bumping into someone with a light _thud,_ and in the process, all the books had dropped to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Leaf exclaimed as she knelt down and started to pick up the scattered books, refusing to look at the person whom she bumped into. When she stood back up, she was slightly surprised to see Gary Oak slightly smirking at her.

"Falling for me, eh Leafy?"

She gripped the books tighter. "What do you want?"

"Hey, what's with the 'tude, Leafy?" Gary asked, the smirk never leaving his lips.

"Stop calling me that!"

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes!"

"Okay...Leafy," he said.

Leaf growled lightly and headed towards the other direction. She couldn't deal with the likes of him and he always got on her nerves for some reason. It was as if he knew exactly where to push her buttons. She tried not to think about it to much and when she arrived at the cafeteria, it wasn't too hard to to divert her mind.

"I told you, it was an accident!"

"Yeah, right."

Leaf wondered what was going on. She hadn't even exited the cafteria for less than five minutes and a chaotic situation had nearly been missed already. She watched as some teachers walked towards the girls and it looked like they were involved in some sort of heated discussion.

Soon enough, Dawn and May trudged towards Leaf.

"What happened?" Leaf asked.

May sighed. "...Ursula is what happened."

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Leaf said to May in free period and May tilted her head. "You and Dawn were just minding your own business, when suddenly you trip and accidentally drop your food over Ursula?"

May sighed at the memory. "Yeah, but I apologized afterwards. It was an accident, after all, but she just was too stubborn to listen and to get revenge, threw her cafeteria food all over me. Naturally, I got mad and did the same to give her a slight idea on who she was messing with, only that time I poured some expired milk all over her. It ruined her hairdo," she said and Leaf had to bite her lip to refrain from laughing. She instantly wished she would've been there. It would have been a hilarious sight to remember.

"So you got in trouble?" Leaf asked.

She reluctatly nodded. "Yeah. We caused a ruckus, apparently."

Leaf assumed that Dawn was involved as well. "Why's Dawn in trouble too?"

"Because she was helping me serve Ursula some good lunch." She winked, and Leaf laughed. She should have expected Dawn to do that, it was naturally part of her characteristics to defend May, even if it meant getting in some kind of trouble later on.

"I have to clean the auditorium today." May groaned.

"And Dawn?"

"Library."

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "What about Ursula?"

Leaf watched as May's lips tilted upwards slightly. "She has to clean the boy's locker room in the gym," May said. Leaf covered her mouth with her palm. The boys' locker room created a stench so bad that spending a good day in the men's bathroom surpassed that.

"She won't survive in there!" Leaf laughed.

"She deserves it," May said as she shrugged indifferently.

Leaf watched her cousin that she had known since they were toddlers with a smile. She was so different back then, so deprived and scared. May had always been holding back her fear of expressing how she felt for a long while. But Leaf felt like this was a new and improved May she was talking to. She was growing into her own person now. And Leaf couldn't be happier.

"I can't believe I got into a fight on the first day of school. My parents are going to kill me," the darker brunette said.

Leaf was about to say something when the door was pushed open to reveal Ms. Locks with a stack of papers in her hand.

"No talking, take out your pens and get started working on this pop quiz." The students groaned hearing that, including Leaf and May.

Leaning in, Leaf whispered to May, "I doubt that you're concerned about your parents killing you now."

* * *

"Remember to take good notes, class because all of this will be on your tests on Friday."

Dawn squinted her eyes at the chalkboard. She indeed was taking good notes, but somehow she could never grasp all the information. It seemed to be a little too complex and complicated for her liking. Then again, she had to remind herself that she was never well versed with Math. But this was her senior year of high school, undoubtedly, the most important year in her high school life and she had to dedicate and devote her extra hour on this subject.

Dawn heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the day and she watched as the students hurriedly exited the classroom. Sighing, she collected her belongings and instinctively made her way through the exit when she stopped herself. She turned around and faced Mr. Williams, her math teacher, who was currently dusting the chalkboard.

"Excuse me, sir. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Mr. Williams turned around at Dawn's voice and adjusted his glass, giving her a small smile. "Of course. What's your concern?"

Dawn sighed. "I need some extra help. You see, I'm not really good at Math. In fact, I haven't been exactly passing with flying colors in this subject for a while now. But I really need some good grades. So I was wondering if you could assist me?"

Mr. Williams was a teacher who'd be willing to sacrifice his time to help out a student and Dawn knew she'd be grateful for having a teacher like him. "I understand. But you see, I'm packed this semester and I would love to assist you, but I'm extremely busy. Weekends are not exactly great either."

This lessened Dawn's spirits. "Oh," she said sadly.

"But," he quickly cut in, "I can suggest you get help someone else; preferrably one of the top students in Math up until this point."

"Who's that?"

Mr. Williams showed a small smile. "I'll let you know by the end of this week."

Dawn sighed. "Okay. Thanks, sir."

* * *

Dawn walked to the library, mumbling to herself. She couldn't believe she had to be sacrificng two hours of her time working in here. Well, it wasn't as if she had anything better to do, but she was already tired, hungry and plus she was planning to get a headstart on her assignments tonight but it looked like those were scrapped for now.

"Dawn."

She turned around and smiled, to see Gretchen waving at her behind the desk. She walked forward to her. "Hey, Gretchen," she said.

"Hi. I'd never expect you to get into trouble in the first week of school," Gretchen said, with a slight smirk on her lips.

Dawn raised her hands in a defensive manner. "Hey, in my defense, I was only helping my friend."

"Yeah, I heard. That Ursula girl is a real brat."

"You know about what happened in the cafeteria?" Dawn asked, in surprise.

Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding? It's an event worthy of the school newspaper," the blonde said and Dawn laughed at that. It had been worth it to see Ursula covered in disgusting cafeteria food, the memory of it just made the blunette smile every single time and it was something she'd never forget in a lifetime.

"So anyways, what do I have to do?" Dawn asked.

Gretchen rubbed her chin, thinking. "Well," she started, "my employee could use some help from you for a while. There are some students looking for certain books. Why don't you try doing that?"

Dawn frowned. "But, I don't even know anything about that," she said experatedly.

"It's easy," the blonde protested, "all the sections of the library are labelled with different subjects," she explained. "For example, you have art, biology, chemistry, physics and in those shelves, there would be books stacked in alphabetic order. When a student asks you for a specific book, like an art book, you'd go in the arts section and look for the book placed there." She finished and watched Dawn purse her lips in understanding. "You got it?"

"Yeah," she said, "I think so."

"Okay, great! You can go to the History section, my employee will be there."

Dawn nodded. "Okay, thanks!"

The blunette made her way slowly towrards the section. Honestly, she wanted to get over this as quickly as she could so she could go home. She hoped this wouldn't take too long. When she saw the words 'History' engraved on the top of a bookshelf, she made herself in the near interior of the library, suddenly noticing the library strectched even further away. And it now came to her concern that she had no idea who Gretchen's employee was, considering she didn't mention anything about the person. She came to a conclusion to find out herself.

She noticed someone climb up to reach for a book, but she widened her eyes in disbelif as her eyes came into contact with the familiar purple hair. As far as she knew, only one person seemed to have that peculiar head of a colour.

Dawn was so shocked that she slightly stepped backwards, unconscious of where she was going until she felt her shoulder come into contact with something. Turning around, she gasped slightly and attempted to prevent the bookshelf from falling, but she knew it was too late when the bookshelf came crashing to the ground. The impact of it touching the ground was so loud, that she flinched harshly and she found herself closing her eyes in embarrassment.

When she had enough courage to open them, she noticed all eyes on her as if they were burning into her soul, and it was as if she committed a felony. Even Paul was staring at her in disbelief.

Dawn blinked.

"Umm...oops?"

* * *

 _ **The third chapter is finally released after...six months? I'm really sorry guys, truth be told this was written a long while back (six months back...) but it was on hold because it needed to be edited, but my beta reader couldn't get the time to edit my crap xD I'm firing him xD jokes.**_

 _ **I have no idea when this will be updated considering the other chapter has not been typed up yet and I'm back in college ._. and I also have a small job. I will try my best though.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, see you guys next time!**_

 _ **~DawnForever101**_


	4. Loathe

**Chapter 4**

* * *

 _ **August 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **; 4:30pm…after school hours**_

The blunette sighed as she took a seat on one of the bleachers in the auditorium.

Working in the library had been a disaster. After she had outright embarrassed herself in front of hundreds of students, she had to stay back and organize everything. Gretchen wasn't too upset about it though (she wasn't really the type to get upset anyway). But Paul, on the other hand, given his expression, looked like he really didn't care. He worked alone for the rest of the time, not giving Dawn a single glance.

That was probably for the best, though. She really didn't need any kind of snarky comment that'd come from out Paul anyway, not after what had happened in the hospital elevator.

"Dawn?"

The blunette looked up at her brunette friend. "Yeah?"

May gave her a suspicious look. "What are you thinking about? I've been cleaning the auditorium for a good while, and you're just sitting there lost."

Dawn shrugged. "I've had a long day. Working in the library put a toll on me," she muttered irritably.

May giggled. "Yeah, same. But you know what makes it better? The fact that Ursula's cleaning the boys' locker room. Just think about it, I bet she's probably dying in there!" She exclaimed, causing the two girls to escape a laugh.

"She deserves it. No one messes with my friends," Dawn said.

May smiled. "You got that right." She then quickly gasped. "Shit, I better get back to cleaning and then we can go home. My mom can pick us up and drop you home," she said. Dawn nodded in agreement. She didn't really feel like walking home from school today.

* * *

Paul was in the parking lot, approaching his car when he heard someone call his name. He let out an irritated scoff. He was in really no mood to be talking to anyone right now, especially after a bad day.

"What?" Paul managed to let out, now facing Drew. It was after 4:30, so what was he still doing in school?

"Wanna hang out, man? It's been a while since we did," Drew said, not really caring about Paul's stoic expression.

"No," he immediately said and instead opened the car door, getting inside. Drew rolled his eyes and tapped on the glass. Paul had already started the vehicle. Couldn't he take a hint? Reluctantly, he rolled down the glass. "What?"

"It's fine if you don't wanna hang out today, but…why are you being colder than usual?"

"I had a bad day," he simply said. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"It's cool man. But hey if you ever wanna tell me about stuff, you can," he said.

That was the problem. He didn't want to share anything with anybody. He just didn't feel comfortable sharing his feelings, even to Drew who was _somewhat_ of a friend. They did hang out together, but all they would really do is play video games, and Drew was the one who'd do all the talking. He felt a bit guilty for not opening up, but he couldn't really help it.

Despite himself, he said, "Okay." And Drew stepped back, allowing Paul to drive out of the parking lot.

* * *

"Thanks again for dropping me home, Miss Maple," Dawn smiled gratefully as she reached for the car door.

The older looking woman looked back at the blunette. "Of course, Dawn. It was no trouble at all," she smiled.

"Later, May," Dawn waved with a smile and her brunette friend waved back, and Dawn watched as the car then sped onto the road again. Dawn then sighed approaching her porch, and reached in her backpack to grab her keys. A few rattling noises were heard from the keys until she stepped into the quiet little place she'd grew accustomed with after a few weeks.

A small, very tiny part of her hoped that she'd see her mother waiting for her to get back, but she knew it was just wishful thinking. She didn't like this feeling of being alone. It gave her an uneasy feeling, as if things were never going to be the same again.

But Dawn quickly shook her thoughts away, and instead went into the kitchen to get a snack. Food was always something that would take her mind off of things. It gave her something to live for. And with that, she quickly pulled out a couple of ramen noodles before turning on the stove.

After about fifteen minutes, Dawn was in the sofa, flipping through random channels with a bowl of ramen in her hand, when she got a call from Leaf. She smiled, as she placed the phone in her ear.

"Sup?" Dawn spoke, and then placed her phone on speaker mode while placing it on the sofa.

"What are you doing?"

"Eating a bowl of ramen and just chilling. How about you?"

"Well, I told May about your mom. It was time for her to know anyway. I hope you aren't mad," Leaf said. Dawn furrowed her eyebrows. Why would she be mad? May was one of her best friends and in fact, what really puzzled her was the fact that they'd chose to tell her _now_ instead of earlier.

"I'm not mad," she said, taking a spoonful of noodles in her mouth. "I'm kinda glad you told her. She's our best friend, she deserves to know."

"Okay, great. Well, May and I were thinking. You should probably move in with one of us," Leaf said.

Dawn paused. She quickly placed the bowl on the table situated in front of her and then got comfortable on the sofa. "Move in?" she enquired, intrigued of the idea.

"Yeah, why not? Besides, you're seventeen and not legally an adult yet and by law, need someone to look after you. And, it could be fun. Living with one of us."

Dawn analysed the option. Living with one of her best friends did sound like a good idea. She wouldn't feel so alone anymore and it would take her mind off of things. She'd spend more time with her friends and forget about her worries for a while.

"So, what? Are you in? Will you-"

"Hell, yeah I'm in!" Dawn quickly cut in and heard Leaf cheered in reply.

"Awesome! So, which who are you gonna move in with? Me or May?"

It wasn't really a difficult question. "May," she quickly said.

"Well, thanks for at least _considering_ to move in with me," Leaf said. Dawn laughed at the heavy amount of sarcasm in her tone.

"Leaf, you know I love you. But it's been a while since I've seen May. You and I see each other all the time, but May and I haven't really talked since over three years," she explained.

"Yeah, true. Plus, May could use a girl around her age in that house, you know because of her annoyingly smart brother?" Leaf laughed.

Dawn shrugged, even though she couldn't see it. "Max is cute."

"He's _fourteen._ Three years younger than us!" She exclaimed.

"He can't be cute at fourteen?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, no, we're not having this conversation right now."

* * *

 _ **August 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **; 8am; Math**_

"Alright, I checked ya'll's test papers last night. And if I had to be pretty honest, ya'll test scores are good enough to wipe own backside with," Ms Duff said, in her typical southern accent, which caused some of the students to laugh. Paul could only stare and tried everything in his willpower to not cringe. It wasn't the accent that annoyed him. It was the fact that sometimes she'd bluntly say something he wouldn't want to hear.

"But some 'a ya'll did pretty good too, so I give credit where it's rightfully deserved. I'll be giving them at the end of the class. Now," she stopped to grab a marker, "let's continue off from yesterday."

The rest of the class was uneventful, with Paul taking notes and ignoring the obnoxious chattering coming from behind him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't understand why someone would feel the need to constantly talk, for almost hours.

"And I'm gonna leave ya'll with this here assignment on the board," Miss Duff said, motioning to the board, and as expected the class groaned. "Ya'll should be happy you're in school, at least you don't have a job yet. I sometimes wish I was still in school," she said.

Paul groaned internally. He didn't need to hear her life story. All the teacher was required to do, was teach the material and move on. Why did she always share her experiences with a bunch of random teenagers?

Soon enough, the bell rang, and the students began piling out of the classroom before Miss Duff handed their test papers back. Paul was grabbing his backpack and walked to the teacher to receive his test paper.

"Paul," she said with a smile. "Keep it up." He looked at the paper now in his hand. As expected, he had gotten an A. No surprise there. He kept an emotionless expression as he headed towards the door. "Oh, wait there for a sec, Paul," she said, effectively stopping him.

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Mr. Johnson wants to see you. He wants to talk to you about something important," she said. Paul simply nodded before walking out of the classroom.

* * *

"Ah, Paul. Good to see you," Mr Johnson said, and stood up from his seat. "I needed to talk to you about something." Paul nodded, and briefly wondered how Mr Johnson even knew his name.

"So, I looked around your school records," he started, unknowingly answering his unspoken question, "and the records prove that you're one of, if not, the top students doing extremely well in Math." Again, Paul didn't seem surprised.

"I see," he said.

"And there's a requirement to be able to graduate. You'll have to complete around sixty hours of community service," he said. Paul scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. He had been working in the school library for long enough, wasn't he? "Off campus," he continued. "You've already completed the fifteen on campus," he said.

"And I have can offer you something to be able to complete your sixty hours of community service? Do you know a girl named Dawn Berlitz?"

The name didn't seem familiar. "I don't know anybody," he said. Well except for Drew, but Mr Johnson didn't need to know that. He merely chuckled.

"Well, she's been having trouble with the subject and she could use someone like you to bring up her grades."

"So you want me to tutor her," he simplified.

"Only if you're up for it."

He shrugged. He didn't really care. He just wanted to get the community service over with. "Alright," he said.

"Good. I'll tell Dawn, and she'll meet you in the library after school. Is that okay?" he asked. Paul simply nodded in response before Mr Johnson smiled. "Good, thanks for meeting up with me,"

"Thank you," Paul said before leaving.

* * *

 _ **August 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **; 12:30pm; Math**_

Dawn looked at the test paper she had just received and immediately cringed. A big fat red F was circled at the right top corner. This was the second Math test she had failed, and it had only been two weeks since school had started. She really needed to bring up these grades, if she wanted to graduate.

"Hey, Dawn, what grade did you get?" Leaf asked, and instead of waiting for a reply, looked at the paper in Dawn's hand. "Oh, damn. Isn't that two F's now?"

"Yes!" Dawn exclaimed worriedly. "I really don't know why I failed; I studied these almost all day," she sighed. "What'd you get?"

"I got a B," Leaf shrugged indifferently. "I'm okay with Math, not too great though."

"It's still better than an F isn't it?" Dawn pointed out.

"Maybe you just need more practi-"

"Leaf, Dawn," Both girls looked towards Mr Johnson, who was currently glaring at them a little. "Please pay attention," he said. Both girls nodded and just decided to talk about her grades later. Speaking of which, Dawn had hoped that Mr Johnson had at least found a tutor who would be able to help her.

After another twenty minutes, the bell rang, signalling for lunch. Leaf looked at Dawn as she grabbed her backpack. "So, when are you moving in with May?"

Dawn shrugged. "I still need to go home and pack everything," she said.

"Yeah." Leaf nodded.

"Dawn, may I speak to you for a minute?" Mr Johnson interrupted, and Dawn nodded. Leaf told Dawn to meet up with her and May at the cafeteria and left the class.

"You're not performing well on your Math tests," he started. "Which is why, I found one of the best Math students in this school, and got a tutor for you."

Dawn was delighted to hear this. "Thank you so much, Mr Johnson, I really appreciate it."

"Yes, you'll be doing a session with him at the library after school," he said, and Dawn nodded.

"Got it, thanks Mr Johnson!" she exclaimed happily, as she hurriedly ran out of the classroom, beginning to speed-walk to the cafeteria. She laughed to herself; she couldn't believe she was excited over a tutor. She was such a nerd sometimes.

* * *

"Hey Paul, wanna join me in the cafeteria?" Drew asked his plum haired friend, who was currently making his way over to the library.

Paul's tone was a bit gruff. "Thanks, I'm good."

Drew frowned. "You can't live your life in the library all the time y'know," he said. Paul only shrugged in response.

"I've never had a problem with it, so why would I now?" Paul commented as he continued walking. To him, that was a signal for Drew to leave. However, Paul grew a bit irritated when he realized Drew following him.

"What do you in the library anyway?" the chartreuse headed male asked.

"Work."

"What kinda work?"

"Organizing the books. School work."

"Doesn't that get boring?"

Paul only shrugged in response. "Not really," he said, and then stopped walking. "I'd like to be alone."

Drew chuckled in response. "Right, okay. Well, seeya later," he said, and to Paul's relief, he was finally out of sight.

Drew roamed around the halls for a bit, suddenly feeling a bit guilty for pressing on the matter too much. It was very difficult to get Paul to open up to him, and all Drew intended to do was be friends with the guy.

But then again, maybe Paul didn't want any friends. He was a loner, after all.

Drew suddenly made notice when a brunette walked over to her locker, taking out some books. He noticed she was a couple of inches shorter than him. She closed her locker, and placed the books in her bag, and Drew made notice of her radiant smile. She suddenly looked familiar.

May looked up, and her eyes met the chartreuse male, who suddenly grew a bit flushed before he turned the other direction and walked away. May raised an eyebrow. He looked a bit familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The brunette just shrugged, and went back to meet up with the girls.

* * *

 _ **August 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 3pm; after school hours**_

"Hey, Dawn where are you going?" May asked.

"The library. I have to meet up with my tutor."

"Oh okay, should I wait for you?"

Dawn smiled. "No, you go ahead. I'll head home by myself and pack everything, no need to worry!"

May sweat dropped. "Everyone worries the most when you say that," she said. Dawn rolled her eyes but still manages to pull out a small smile. "And Dawn, just remember, I'll always be here for you. You can come to me and tell me anything."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Okay, why the mushy talk all of a sudden?"

"Because I know how you feel, remember? Yes, I'm not totally alone, but I did feel alone for a while. I don't want you to go through what I did," she said. "You don't deserve it."

Dawn sighed. "Why do bad things happen to good people?" May shrugged in response. "Well anyway, I'll see ya later."

Dawn entered the library and glanced at the clock. She noticed it was five after three when she decided to pull out a seat and sit down. For a while, she spent some time getting her books ready for when her tutor would come. A sudden thought came into her mind.

She didn't even know who her tutor _was._

Dawn groaned internally. How could she have been so stupid and not ask Mr Johnson who her tutor was? How was she supposed to identify him if he came? Did he know who he was tutoring?

"Hey, Dawn."

Dawn looked up to see a familiar face. "Hey, Gretchen," she said, a warm smile on her face.

"Math, huh?" Gretchen glanced at the textbooks. "The subject of pure evil," she laughed.

Dawn groaned. "I've been failing the tests. I'm waiting for my Math tutor, but I just realized I don't even know who he is. Ugh, I'm really stupid."

"Does your tutor know that you're at the library?"

"Well, that's what Mr Johnson told me."

"Well, nobody's in the library except for you and me. If someone shows up, I'll ask if they're looking for you."

Dawn sighed in relief. "That'd be great. Thanks, Gretchen," she smiled gratefully as Gretchen easily returned it before going back to her work station.

Minutes passed, as Dawn flipped through her notes, attempting to do a few problems. She had another test next week, and she couldn't afford to fail this one. She glanced at the clock and noticed fifteen minutes had already passed. Her tutor was a no-show. Dawn grumbled incoherently to herself. If he didn't want to show up, why didn't he explicitly say so to Mr Johnson? At least she wouldn't have been wasting her time in the library.

Fed up, she bid goodbye to Gretchen and walked out the library with a scowl on her face.

About to exit the school building, she slightly jumped when she noticed lightning. The transparent door allowed her to see the grey skies, creating a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Rain was pouring, and Dawn had no mode of transport to get home. Sighing, she quickly pulled out her cell phone to call May.

"Hello?" the brunette answered on the second ring.

"May!" the blunette exclaimed. "It's raining, and I-"

"Dawn? Where are you? Did you come back from school yet?"

"No, that's what I've been trying to-"

"Hello?"

Dawn eyed her phone, noticing the service bar was pretty low. She placed her phone next to her ear. "May, could you please come pick me up? It's raining and I can't get home!" She waited for a response, but all she heard was repetitive beeping. "Ughh!" Dawn groaned, and just to add to her bad luck, her cell phone had died.

 _Great._ Dawn thought as she eyed for anybody who would still be outside, but that would be ridiculous. Much to her pleasant surprise, she had spotted a head of familiar looking hair. Dawn hurriedly pushed the door open, and tried to ignore the piercing cold winds on her delicate skin and heavy raindrops. Paul was underneath an umbrella, about to start his car.

"Paul!" she exclaimed, trying not to freeze in this intense weather. He looked back at her in surprise. "What are you still doing here? Well, anyways, that's not my business. Could you _please_ do me a favour? I really want to go home, would you drop me home?"

Almost instinctively, Paul said, "Why the hell would I do that?" He noticed her lip shivering and her blue locks drenched. It was like looking at a wet Barbie doll. Paul would have chuckled at the thought, but Dawn continued.

"W-would you r-rather leave me alone here, in the c-cold rain?"

He rolled his eyes. "You've got legs. Wait for the rain to stop, and then go home. I have to go deal with something. I really don't have time for this," he spat. Then he quickly opened his car door and sat inside. Dawn's jaw dropped. He was actually leaving her there.

Paul was about to drive off, but then took a glance at the rear-view mirror. She was shivering and clenching her teeth. Paul scoffed silently. Wouldn't the logical thing to do was to find shelter, or at least wait in the school building? She just stood there, as if she was almost expecting him to give in. He wouldn't give in to her stupidity. She really annoyed him, from the very first day he ever saw her in the hospital elevator, and he didn't even know her name.

Dawn looked surprised when she saw him out of the vehicle. His purple locks were starting to get a little wet, and he looked at her, unfazed. It was then that Dawn noticed him to be quite taller than her; he was almost towering over her. She smiled.

However, Paul just handed her the umbrella he had in his hand, and walked back to his vehicle. Dawn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped once again. She watched unbelievably as the car exited the parking lot. She eyed the umbrella with hatred, and clenched her teeth in anger of how much she had come to really _loathe_ Paul, in just a matter of a few weeks.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4 is released! Thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Yeah, Paul isn't nice. Well, I guess he was nice enough to give her his umbrella, but it's actually more like pity. Haha.**_

 _ **What'd you think of this chapter? Anything I can improve on? Let me know in a review! It only takes a few minutes, and it won't kill ya!**_

 _ **Edit: Seems as if there's a glitch with letting the readers know when a fic is updated. Hopefully its resolved now, because I've updated this chapter twice now.**_

 _ **Next update will be around June or July. See you guys next time!**_


	5. Pathetic

_**So, I'm nearly done with state exams and I just graduated :D with my associate's degree! It feels a bit overwhelming, but it also feels great, now that I have some more free time.**_

 _ **Also, to pinkie pie: Your review honestly made me laugh, but really if you don't like this story, you don't have to read it. It's as simple as that. I will never force anybody to read my story, it's up to you. And yes, I'm a full supporter of pearlshipping, but it doesn't mean I can't like Paul and Dawn too. No hard feelings.**_

 _ **For those of you who have supported my story so far, thank you for reading and giving me reviews, it helps. Read on!**_

* * *

 _ **August 28th; Dawn's residence; 8:03pm**_

Opening the house door, Dawn quickly entered inside, still shivering due to the intensity of the cold. She was a bit drenched, so she decided to rid of her clothes and take a warm bath.

She was waiting at the school grounds for at least one and a half hours, and it was continuously raining heavily. She had grown apprehensive when it had started to get dark, and she definitely didn't like the idea of staying overnight at school, which is why she had started to walk home in the thundering rain. Sure, she did use Paul's umbrella (despite wanting to throw it at the ground and stomping her foot against it), but it only did so much to protect her from the rain.

After drying herself off, she plugged in her useless phone that just _had_ to die at the exact moment she was caught in the rain, and soon noticed she had a few missed calls and unread texts.

 _3 missed calls – Leaf_

 _3 missed calls – May_

 _7:02 May: Dawn, u okay? Did u get home yet?_

 _7:13 May: This rain is terrible, I just hope ur phone is dead, and ur not stuck in school or something like that :/_

 _7:27 Leaf: Gurl, pls answer, we've been worried. :(_

Smiling a bit, she dialled Leaf. It rung about twice until she heard Leaf's voice. "Dawn! What the hell? We've been trying to reach you since over an hour, and-"

"I'm fine, thanks so much for asking." I scoffed, interrupting her.

"Sorry, but what happened?"

Dawn sighed at the memory. "I got stuck at school. I was waiting for the rain to stop, and my phone battery died. I couldn't wait anymore and just decided to walk home."

"In the rain?!" Leaf exclaimed in worry.

"It's not that big of a deal." Dawn shrugged.

"Was there nobody you could have asked to take you home?"

Dawn scowled. "Yeah. I tried asking Paul, but me being the idiot I am, forgot that he's a prick and doesn't like helping people. He refused instantly and just threw his umbrella at me, thinking that I need his pity. And then he drove off in his car and left me there!"

It was silent for a while, until Leaf spoke with a soft voice. "I'm so sorry, Dawn. But, remind me again, who's Paul?"

She didn't seemed surprised by the question. "Just some prick loner. I saw him one day in the library in our junior year, but we never talked."

"So, how do you know him?" Leaf inquired.

"Apparently, Drew and him are somewhat friends, I guess. I talk to Drew sometimes, and he's mentioned Paul. He's so frustrating and cold. Just the other day, I was trapped in the elevator with him-"

"What?! And you're telling me this _now?!"_ Leaf exclaimed.

"It never came up," Dawn defended.

"Okay, wait hold on," Leaf said, and Dawn assumed she was trying to get comfortable. "Okay, continue." Dawn grinned. She had to admit; venting out her anger to one of her best friends made her feel much better.

* * *

 _ **August 28th; Kalos Hospital; 8:15pm**_

Paul sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room, appearing emotionless as almost always. He looked at the clock above and noticed that it was nearly eight, almost two hours before he received an important call from the hospital. Since he didn't have a cell phone, he had to take the call from the school office.

He had been waiting in the library prior the tutor session, when he was called down to the office to take the call. He didn't want to leave the person hanging, but he was noted that it was an important call, and couldn't be ignored. When he was called to the hospital, he didn't hesitate to run to his vehicle immediately. But as timing would have it, his run down car had to pick that appropriate time to not start for some apparent reason. It had taken over forty minutes to get it running again with some tools he had in his trunk, and he had grown really pissed. He was about an hour late.

And then that girl he had grown extremely annoyed with just had to appear, and he had grown a little more pissed.

"Paul Shinji?" The plum haired teen looked at the source of the voice and then walked to the front desk. "You can go up now." Paul nodded at the front desk lady politely and headed towards the elevator.

Paul's brother, Reggie, had been in a coma for over six months. He grimaced at the thought during the elevator ride. He didn't know how, but he had managed over six months without his brother and his only blood left. And it had been a very gruesome six months so far.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Paul walked over to the ICU room. The last time he had seen Reggie was a week ago, when he was unfortunately trapped inside the elevator with that girl. He didn't want to think about her too much and how much she got under her skin, so he proceeded to knock. After a few shuffling noises being heard, he saw the door click open and he was greeted with the nurse.

"Paul, please come in," she motioned him, and he nodded before entering. Every time he walked into the ICU room, he couldn't refrain from cringing at least once. He hated hospitals and despised the ICU room. And he couldn't dare look at the lifeless figure on the hospital bed, who was fighting for his life for over six months.

"Okay, I have some good news. The last time you visited, Reggie was still unresponsive to any of the tests that we had conducted so far, due to the heavy amount of brain damage. However, we decided to conduct one more physical test. The results aren't amazing, but…it's a start. We noticed during the test, that his left eye and right hand were beginning to respond."

For what seemed like a good minute or two, Paul looked genuinely surprised. "Are you sure?" His tone was somewhat relieved, as if he'd been waiting for this since months.

The nurse nodded. "Yes. Now that Reggie's beginning to respond to the tests, it's only a matter of a few more months until he wakes up. We still need to conduct more tests and keep him under observation, but this is a major improvement, especially after six months."

Paul nodded, silently agreeing with her. Daring himself, he turned his head and looked at Reggie, and after a few seconds, his lips quirked into a small smile. Sure, the news wasn't anything extraordinary, but the fact that Reggie was finally responding, had diminished his sour mood for the day.

* * *

 _ **August 29th; 3:30pm**_

Drew opened his locker to grab his books and closed it in satisfaction. The chartreuse male was relieved that today was Friday, and started to plan his weekend by doing absolutely nothing and just chill. Maybe he'd invite Ash over to his place.

Drew was suddenly hit against the shoulder, and he had almost hissed in pain. "What the hell, man!" He exclaimed, glaring at the raven haired teen, who just grinned.

"Geez, calm down, you're such a girl. We have practice, remember? And you know we can't bail coach this time, because the last time we did, our sorry asses had to run fifty laps." The two cringed at the memory.

"I didn't forget," Drew said, "I was just grabbing my books. After practice, let's go grab a burger or something-" he cut himself off when his eyes caught a brunette girl. The brunette was currently talking to Dawn, one of his friends. But his eyes were mainly on the brunette. Every time he saw her, he had a sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen her before.

Ash looked at Drew. "Drew, why are you making googly eyes?" Drew rolled his eyes. He just decided to ignore Ash's comment and walk up over to Dawn and the enchanting brunette.

Dawn caught sight of Drew immediately. "Hey, Drew, what's up?"

Drew looked at Dawn, and glanced at the brunette slightly before looking back at Dawn. "Nothing much, I was just heading over to practice when I noticed your friend here. Are you gonna introduce yourself to me?" he motioned towards the brunette. Dawn smirked; Drew was already flirting with May.

"I'm May," she said.

"May…" he watched her, and May grew a little self-conscious. "Have we met before? I think I'd remember meeting someone like you."

"Would you stop flirting? We need to get to practice!" Ash exclaimed from behind Drew. "I do not want to run fifty laps and if we do, I will not hesitate to chop your legs off."

"Geez, relax, Ketchum. Just because you've never had a girlfriend, doesn't mean that I can't," Drew said. May raised her eyebrows at this. She didn't really knew Drew, and she wasn't really fond of having a boyfriend that soon, even though she had to admit Drew was a fine looking specimen.

"Let's just go," Ash muttered, and Drew rolled his eyes.

He looked back at the two. "I'll see you around," he said, winking at May, and her cheeks reddened. Drew grinned, and walked suavely across the hallways before disappearing from sight.

"Wow, he sure has got it bad for you," Dawn commented.

May's cheeks were the color of a tomato. "He does _not._ Besides, I'm not even interested in him."

"That's what they all say," Dawn said, smirking.

"Shut up."

Dawn laughed. "Relax, I'm just kidding, May. Anyways, I have to go find my tutor," she said as she reached in her pocket for her phone. It was almost four; she hoped her tutor was still around in school. Mr Johnson had told her that her tutor had to leave due to an emergency.

"Let's just hope he doesn't ditch you again," May said. "Do you even know who he is?" she asked.

Dawn shrugged. "I really don't care anymore. It's because of him or her that I got stuck at school yesterday in the rain. Whoever my tutor is, could have told me and I would have understood, and went home safe and sound."

May raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Dawn. Your tutor probably doesn't even know you, let alone has your number. And it's really not that big of a deal, is it?"

It really wasn't, Dawn wasn't sure why she was exaggerating, and she let a small smile show. "I guess not."

"Good," the brunette said. "Now you get your ass out of here, stop talking to me!" she exclaimed, and Dawn rolled her eyes, but then feigned hurt.

"I thought you loved me," Dawn said dramatically and the two laughed shortly.

* * *

 _ **4:10pm**_

Unbelievably, Paul was in a somewhat good mood, than he had been in the past six months. Throughout the school day, he couldn't stop thinking about Reggie. There was a chance that everything could go back to the way it was. This thought only made the anticipation that much greater to Paul.

But he knew he had to be patient. For now, Reggie was still suffering, and all Paul had to do now is just hope for the best, like he always had.

He walked up to the library and saw Gretchen working on her computer as soon as he entered. She sensed someone's presence and looked up to see Paul. A smile graced her features. "Wow, you're always exactly on time," she giggled.

"I'm tutoring somebody for today," he said, ignoring her comment. Gretchen raised her eyebrow. He pulled out a piece of paper. "Someone named Dawn; Dawn Berlitz," he said. "I was told she'd be in the library-"

"You don't know Dawn Berlitz?" Gretchen exclaimed in shock.

"I didn't realize she was some sort of celebrity," Paul said dryly, and Gretchen laughed. He was actually a bit surprised she asked him that, knowing he was a loner.

"It's not that, she's a super nice girl, and I thought you'd know her. She's bubbly and a cheerful girl, and a pretty one at that too," Gretchen winked. Paul cringed instantly. He was just tutoring a girl; not dating her. He really didn't have time for girls anyway. "Okay, okay I'll stop teasing you. And you're in luck, Dawn's probably sitting somewhere in the library right now. And since you don't know her, I'll lead the way," she offered.

He nodded and they walked somewhere to the interior of the library. Honestly, he still had no idea who he was supposed to be looking for, but he just wanted to get over these tutoring sessions as soon as possible so he wouldn't be burdened with it later on.

Dawn was sitting with a trigonometry book buried in her face when the two approached her. "Dawn," Gretchen called, and Dawn removed the book, smiling to see Gretchen.

Paul's eyes slightly widened, and he groaned silently to himself. "Dawn, this is your tutor." Gretchen gestured to Paul, and Dawn, similar to Paul, had her eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Oh hell no!" She exclaimed loudly, and some people shushed her. She then decided to whisper yell. "You're telling me _Paul_ is my tutor?" She exclaimed in disbelief, and she tried to regulate the volume of her voice so she wouldn't disrupt the others. The same guy who had been nothing but insensitive and had the nerve to leave her in the rain, was her tutor?

"I am not working with her," Paul decided immediately, turning to the other direction. His entire mood had dropped, thinking he was forced to work with an annoying barbie girl like her. Dawn had no intention of working with him either. She was in no mood to deal with a heartless and cold, insensitive person.

"You guys clearly have some problems with each other," Gretchen said sheepishly. "Maybe this is good for the two of you, you guys can bond together and settle the differences," she suggested. Dawn scoffed in response while Paul rolled his eyes, clearly in disagreement with the idea.

"I'm going to talk to the principal and convince him that I need another tutor." Dawn stated.

"That may have been the smartest comment I've ever heard you say," Paul said while Dawn proceeded to walk out of the library. She just couldn't understand why he needed to insult her, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"You should probably go with her," Gretchen looked towards Paul. "You know, to hear what the principal's going to decide. It'll save you the trouble."

Paul sighed and just nodded while grumbling to himself incoherently as he then made himself to the principal's office.

* * *

"So, you want another tutor, is that correct, Dawn?" Mr. Albert asked. Dawn and Paul were seated next to each other in separate rotating chairs. Paul had a nonchalant expression on his face; he really didn't favour the idea of being in here very often. His entire mood had been dropped instantly when he realized that he had to tutor Dawn. Hopefully Mr. Albert could change that.

"Yes, we're totally against the idea of working with each other. We don't get along with each other, so Paul being my tutor is out of the question. Can you please make arrangements for another tutor?" she asked.

Mr. Albert adjusted his glasses. "I'll see what I can do," he said, shuffling through some drawers. Paul closed his eyes in slight satisfaction. The two couldn't bear the sight of each other and couldn't even last a couple of hours in an elevator; tutoring was out of line.

"Well, it appears that Paul here is actually the best Math student in the school. Also, there is no other tutor available at your preferred timing," Mr Albert said.

Dawn was about to retort when Paul cut in. "You're telling us that there's no available tutor within this _entire_ institution?"

"All the other tutors aren't available after four, which is when both of you are free," Mr Albert further emphasized.

"I can change the timings," Dawn quickly suggested. Except that wasn't possible. She frowned. Being a senior, her schedule was pretty full this semester. "Damn it, I can't."

"Perhaps this is a good thing. You two can settle your differences with each other while getting to know each other. Who knows? You might get a liking towards each other," Mr Albert suggested. Paul rolled his eyes and Dawn internally cringed at the thought. The blunette slumped in her chair, defeated. She couldn't believe she was stuck with Paul for a tutor. The two couldn't last a couple of hours in an elevator; imagine the chaos that'd take place studying together.

Dawn was slightly surprised when she noticed Paul standing up, as if, he refused to remain persistent. Then again, it had been Dawn doing most of the talking, so why did he look frustrated? "Thank you for your help, Mr. Albert. If there's nothing that can be done, then we have no choice," Paul said while Mr. Albert smiled approvingly. Dawn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She thought Paul would be willing to persist, but he had actually contrasted her thoughts. Guess he wasn't as obstinate as Dawn was.

"Great. I'm sure Dawn's grades will improve with your help. Good luck," Mr. Albert said, and Paul nodded in response before he turned around, glancing his direction at Dawn.

"Let's go."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Go where?"

He rolled his eyes. "Skirt shopping," he replied flatly."The library, where else?"

"Oh."

* * *

 _ **4:35pm**_

Paul walked forward as Dawn followed quietly behind him. She quickly noticed that he never made any movement with his arms while walking. It was as if a stiff tree was walking down the hallway. She silently grimaced to herself. Of all people, why did she get stuck with Paul for her tutor? She had no idea how it was going to be possible to get along with someone like him, and why some people (Gretchen and Mr. Albert) would expect the two to get along.

When Paul had approached the library desk, he placed his bookbag on the desk and took out some school supplies. "Take out your Trig textbook," he said. Dawn raised an eyebrow at the demanding tone, but chose to ignore it and did as she told.

"What was your grade for the last test?" he asked.

"I got an F," she said, not really proud. "It was on sine, cosine and tangent."

"Did you even study?" Paul asked.

"Of course I did!" she exclaimed. "And that's why I'm frustrated. It seems that every time a Math test pops up, I study and practice the day before, and then all of a sudden on the test, I'm...blank, and I don't know why. This doesn't happen with any of my other subjects. In fact, I'm doing pretty well so far in AP English, Physics-"

"Okay," he cut her off, and Dawn popped a vein, as if she was just talking bull. "For the next test, which is next week, the topic's on cofunctions. Do you understand cofunctions?"

"A little," she grumbled, still a bit upset over his attitude. He ignored her childish antics and opened his textbook, and read a few pages before handing it over to her. She eyed him questioningly.

"Read pages 30-35," he ordered. Dawn didn't really understand what he was trying to do; she had already read the pages a few times from her own textbook, and it didn't help. She was about to say something when she heard her phone.

 _4:39 May: Hey just wanted to ask when ur gonna move in?_

 _4:39 Dawn: Idk yet, i didn't pack...i guess i could start today?_

Dawn looked up at Paul, who looked at her unimpressed. She was just texting May, was that a crime? She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him, as she began reading. She had only read a sentence or two when her phone lighted up.

 _4: 40 May: Ya! Maybe Leaf and I could help u pack :)_

 _4:41 Dawn: Yea sounds good to me :) anywayz, i gtg, my tutor is giving me a death glare -_-_

 _4:42 May: Oh yea, who's your tutor?_

 _4:42 Dawn: Paul._

"If you're not interested in passing the class, then I suggest you leave and stop wasting my time," Paul suddenly said, and Dawn looked up at him.

"I'm just texting May," she defended. "We're talking about something important."

"Right," Paul scoffed. Dawn pursed her lips in annoyance as she looked at her phone.

 _4:44 May: Paul? Idk him. Is he hot? :o_

Typical. Dawn, surprisingly, contemplated the question brought up, and actually glanced up at Paul, who had been reading from his textbook. She noticed his purple locks which were shoulder length, and his facial features. She made close notice of a bit of facial hair, and noticed his average build. Dawn shook her head disapprovingly. Did she actually check Paul out? She was surprised by her own actions.

4:46 Dawn: I guess...?

4:47 May: What do u mean by that? Is he hot or nah?

Dawn didn't know how to reply, but the phone was suddenly yanked away from her hands, and Dawn's jaw dropped. "What are you doing? Give me back my phone!" she exclaimed in anger.

"No," he said, and placed the phone in his book bag. "You've wasted almost ten minutes of my time. You're not getting it back until after we're finished," he said. Dawn crossed her arms in annoyance. In her mind, he had no right to do that, and was generally fed up of his commanding behaviour. "Let's continue."

Fifteen minutes later of just reading a few more pages, Dawn turned to Paul indicating that she was finished. "Tell me what you've learned."

"Uh," Dawn started. "Cofunctions are identities and show the relationship between sine, cosine and tangent."

"Example?"

"Sine and cosine," she replied easily.

"Another example."

"Secant...and cosecant."

"Why was there a pause?"

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You weren't sure of the answer. Either that, or you didn't remember, which is appalling considering you just read the information."

She didn't like his tone. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

Paul shrugged. He didn't emphasize what he truly meant, and Dawn rolled her eyes. She hated this. She hated how she felt inferior to him. It was as if every time she spoke, he'd eye her like she'd just uttered something extremely rash. "What's a versine?"

She had just read it. She forced herself to think. "It's... a function," she said, and wanted to facepalm at her own answer.

"This is really simple. I bet even a twelve year old can do this. It's too bad girls like you are always focused on unimportant stuff like shopping and boys," Paul commented. Dawn parted her lips, and this time she just lost it. He had just stereotyped her to one of those typical girls that only thought of boys.

"What is wrong with you?!" she exclaimed. "I'm trying, okay?! And I'm not like those girls, I care about school! Sure, I like shopping and I think some boys are cute but that's it."

"Then why are you struggling with just five pages of information?"

"Because I have discalculia, okay?! Are you happy now?!" Dawn exclaimed, and then widened her eyes in realization of what she'd just uttered. Dawn had never shared this with anybody, not even May or Leaf, because, even though it was a simple Math learning disorder, she had felt a little embarrassed by it. It wasn't a big deal, but to her, it was. Paul wasn't sure if he had ever heard of this so called disease, and wasn't really shocked, but perplexed. "I-I gotta go," she said embarrassingly, as she packed up her stuff, and hurriedly left the library.

All Paul could think was: Pathetic.

* * *

 _ **Yes, guys. Discalculia is a real thing, I don't make stuff up. Google it.**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I wrote a little more about Paul so you guys would see what's going on in Paul's life. And, I'm also trying to include contestshipping and leafgreenshipping in this story, which is why I added a bit of Drew and May in this chapter.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and leave a review :)**_


	6. Fired

_**Okay, so I've been trying to get an update typed up, but things got in the way. I was away at my cousins' for at least two weeks, then I had to get my transcripts and other documents ready to start applying to universities. Wish me luck guys :D And here's the update!**_

* * *

 _ **August 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **; Paul's residence; 5:59 am**_

It was a Saturday morning, the beginning of the weekend for most teens, which was filled with relaxation; but not for Paul. Paul worked a couple of jobs both on the weekends and the weekdays. It was stressful and tiresome.

On the weekends, Paul served as a waiter at one of the restaurants a couple blocks away from where he lived. He honestly despised the job. Customers were rude and disrespectful, always making loud noises that irritated Paul to no end. And there was always that _one_ toddler that either was crying obnoxiously loud, or running around, without the parents giving any sort of damn. People barely tipped him, also. His manager recently told him to have a friendly smile, so that customers would feel more welcome, instead of no expression at all. Paul had snorted; like he was going to waste his time pretending to be happy serving disrespectful people. Nonetheless, he couldn't quit if he wanted food on his table, especially while Reggie was fighting for his life.

While Paul was getting ready, he heard something ringing. He raised an eyebrow before he realized that Dawn's phone was ringing; he almost forgot that she had left it with him accidentally. _Why would someone call her at six in the morning?_ He had those thoughts in mind before he noticed the caller ID. Someone named May was calling her. He hesitated at first, but then picked up the phone and answered, only to hear screaming from the other end of the line.

"Dawn! Why aren't you answering your phone? Do you know how long I've been leaving texts and calling you?" she yelled. "It's totally fine that you didn't answer me yesterday, but I thought we agreed that you'd start packing-" At this point, Paul grew extremely annoyed and cut off the call. She didn't and probably wouldn't even let him speak at any point, and the fact that he was listening to her rant for only ten seconds about Dawn not answering her calls was just plain ridiculous. He didn't have time for this.

But the phone rang again. Paul only growled in annoyance, and didn't answer. The ringing stopped and he went into his small kitchen and grabbed his cup of coffee, drinking it to calm his nerves before he heard Dawn's phone ring yet again.

 _Fuck_ , he thought, as he went and picked up the phone. Instead of answering it, he grew angry and instead raised his arm, ready to throw the phone against the wall, annoyed of the stupid ringing, but stopped himself. What good would that do? Then he'd had to get a new phone for Dawn. He sighed intensely, before he answered.

"Why'd you cut off my call? You never do that, Dawn!" May exclaimed across the phone.

"People don't answer the phone for a lot of reasons," Paul spoke through gritted teeth. There was silence across the line, and he waited.

"Uh…w-who are you?"

"The name's Paul. I should have just shut off the phone instead of answering it. At least I wouldn't hear those _annoying_ rings anymore. And for fuck's sakes, if somebody doesn't answer the phone, news flash; it means they're busy, it's early in the morning, or they don't wanna talk. And I thought Dawn was annoying."

"…I'm…I didn't know. Why is Dawn's phone with you?"

"She left it by accident during our tutoring session," he replied. "If we're done here, I have a lot of work to do." And the line went dead. Paul pressed his forehead with his thumb, escaping a long relieved sigh.

* * *

May placed the phone on her bedside table, pressing her lips in a thin line. She suddenly felt guilty for being so bothersome. She had considered herself stupid for bothering the guy, but no doubt that guy had a sour taste in his mouth. Sure, she had deserved it, but she was only wanting to help Dawn get her stuff packed. She had no idea that Dawn had to work with a sorry ass like him. Seeing that it was only ten minutes after six on a Saturday morning, she went back to sleep.

About three hours later, the brunette's eyes opened, and she stirred before she was fully awake, feeling better rested. She got down on the carpeted floor, letting a yawn escape as she stretched her arms. She spotted her brother, Max, still sound asleep, before she smiled as she went into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom was still occupied, and May heard some knocking across the bathroom. "May! Come on, what are you doing there, taking a dump? You've been in there for ages," Max complained.

"I'm almost done," May replied, and soon enough the bathroom door opened, and Max looked relieved.

"Finally!" The fourteen year old teen exclaimed as he ran past May, closing the door behind May. The brunette rolled her eyes before she walked downstairs.

"Morning, mom," May said happily to her mother, who was in the kitchen. Caroline greeted her daughter, and placed some warm eggs for her to dine on. "Thanks, mom!" she excitedly said, and grabbed a fork.

"I hope you choke," Max said, walking downstairs, and May's eyes widened in anger.

"Shut up you little brat," May retorted.

Caroline placed her hands on her hips. "Not again you two, I've had enough of this," she said sternly placing eggs for her son.

"She keeps hogging the bathroom!" Max exclaimed in distress. "Not only that, she takes extremely long showers! I'm surprised no fish died because of the amount of water you use."

"Hey, it takes a while to look good!"

"And she kicks while sleeping! And snores so goddamn loud! Mom, I can't take it, I want my own room!" Max looked at Caroline.

"At least I don't fart in my sleep!" May retorted.

"That was _one_ time!"

"Okay, enough!" Caroline yelled, effectively getting the two of them to stop arguing. "I understand your concern, Max. And I know how to settle this," Both kids raised their eyebrows in curiosity. "Max, you want your own room, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, good news. You're going to get your own room."

"Yes!" the two of them exclaimed in unison.

"May's friend, Dawn, is going to be living with us for a while, and May will share the room with her, while you, Max will go in the guest room," Caroline explained.

Max's jaw dropped at this. "What?! There's gonna be _two_ girls in this house?"

"Yeah, but hey, you have your own room now," May reminded him.

"True," he nodded. "Who's Dawn again?" he asked before the doorbell rang. The three of them turned their attention towards the door, and May insisted she'd get the door.

The door opened, and May smiled to see the blunette. "Dawn!" she exclaimed happily, and Dawn giggled in response. Caroline smiled, and walked forward while the two shared a hug. "I am so excited that you're gonna live here now. It's gonna be great!"

"I know, I'm pretty excited as well," she said, and then looked at the older woman standing behind May. "Thank you so much for having me, Miss Maple," Dawn said.

Caroline smiled. "It's no trouble, Dawn. You can stay here as long as you want. You're facing a difficult time, and we'd love to help you out while your mother recovers."

Dawn smiled sadly. She didn't want to be a burden; she was really thankful towards May and her entire family. "Don't be sad," Caroline said. "Trust me, you'll feel at home here, and forget all about your worries."

"I'm sure I will," Dawn smiled.

"Let's get your bags in," Caroline said, as she walked outside. "Oh, good gracious me! That's a lot of bags, did you have any help?"

Dawn nodded. "Yes, miss Maple, your niece, Leaf helped me, and we borrowed her dad's truck to carry them."

"Wait, where's Leaf?" May asked.

Just on cue, Leaf appeared from behind them, looking exasperated. "Hey, sorry, my dad was parking in your driveway. He's getting the rest of your bags, Dawn," she said. "Ugh, how much clothes do you have?" she asked in astonishment, looking at the bags placed at the front door.

Dawn sweat dropped in response. The three girls let out a loose laugh, before they each secured a bag inside. "So, what's gonna happen to the house?" Leaf asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but it's gonna stay there for now. If my mom recovers fast enough, I can move back in," Dawn replied, pulling another suitcase. Soon enough, with Leaf's dad's help, all the suitcases were in. Now all Dawn had to do was unpack; that was going to be a problem, she was positive one closet couldn't do justice to all of these clothes.

"Finally done," May said with a relief. "I need to sit down," she said before taking a seat in the dining table. "Wow, it's already noon," she said, looking at the clock.

"Yeah, we should eat, I'm kinda hungry," Leaf admitted.

"Same," Dawn said, and then looked around for a bit. "May, where's that cute little brother of yours?"

"What cute little brother?" May deadpanned. "I only know A SOUR WUSS NAMED MAX MAPLE!" May yelled loudly across the house.

"I HEARD THAT!" Max yelled from upstairs.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!"

Dawn and Leaf laughed at the two siblings, while Caroline sighed in disapproval. Dawn was sure living here would be enjoyable.

* * *

 _ **1:30 pm; May's residence**_

"You'll be sharing May's room," Caroline said to Dawn, as she opened the door, finding Max playing video games. "Max, what are you doing? Go do your homework!"

"Yeah, just a sec, I just need to kill this guy-" Max said, but then his jaw dropped when Caroline pulled the cord out. "What the-" Caroline's eyes widened, and Max tried to rephrase his swearing. "What the heck?"

"You've been playing for an hour now, you need to get your homework done. You know what happens when you do it at the last minute." Caroline placed her hands on her hip, while Max grumbled something incoherently before he walked out of the room.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll help you get it done," Dawn said. Caroline was about to say something, but instead just smiled, and walked downstairs.

Max's eyes widened. "Really? May never helps me with my homework."

"No need to worry, we'll do it together."

He wasn't sure why she offered to help, but he smiled before adjusting his square-rimmed glasses. "Cool," he said. "I'm just happy I'm finally gonna get my own room, I'm really sick of sharing a room with my OBNOXIOUS SISTER!"

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" the brunette yelled from downstairs.

"GOOD!"

Dawn giggled. "Does this happen every day?"

"More like every hour."

They both heard some footsteps on the staircase, and they turned behind to see May. Leaf just left, she needed to help her dad with something. Anyways, I'll help you unpack, Dawn."

"Oh, shit, I forgot about unpacking," she said. May raised an eyebrow. "I was going to help Max with his homework."

May rolled her eyes. "He's fourteen, if he can fix the TV, help his dad with work, and put a rubric cube in less than two minutes without any help, he can do his own homework."

Dawn sweat-dropped. "Well, geez, May, that's not nice." May shrugged.

"Yeah, you've never helped me with my homework anyway. If Dawn is offering, then you shouldn't interrupt." Max retorted, and Dawn raised her eyebrows.

"Whatever. Well, if you're gonna help him with his homework, then I'm gonna start unpacking for you, Dawn. Then maybe after you're done, we can finish together," May suggested.

"Alright, sounds good." Dawn nodded.

* * *

The blunette and the fourteen year old teen were working together for at least an hour in his new room, and Dawn realized something. The reason why the others didn't help him with his school work was probably because Max was extremely smart. All Dawn did was watch him work every problem with little to no hesitation. _Great, even a fourteen year old is better than me at math._

"What's wrong?" Max asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. You're really smart, Max."

"I know," he said smugly as he adjusted his glasses. "It's one of my many talented gifts," he added. Dawn raised an eyebrow. He was pretty egoistical for a small age.

"You didn't even need my help," Dawn pointed out.

"No…but it was nice having someone around," Max said; his tone sounded as if he was disappointed. Dawn cocked her head slightly, in curiosity.

"Why do you and May fight all the time? I mean, maybe I don't know, because I'm an only child and this is probably normal, but it seems a bit much," she said. Max stared at her for a while at the question brought up. "I could be wrong though," she added.

Max shook his head. "No, it's fine. I really don't know. Before we argued because it's riveting, and I love seeing May pissed." Dawn escaped a laugh. "But yeah, now it's different, we argue over really stupid reasons and it seems she's always angry at me for something."

"I'm sure she loves you though," Dawn offered.

Max shrugged. Dawn sighed, seeing the conversation leading nowhere. "Well, anyways, I have to go unpack. Wouldn't be fair for May to do all the work."

"Okay, seeya later," Max said before Dawn left the room.

* * *

"Four bags of clothes and two bags of shoes? Really?" May asked in disbelief.

Dawn laughed. "Maybe I should have toned it down a little," she said sheepishly.

"You think?!" May replied. "But these tops are super cute, so you're lucky I'm not raging right now," she added with a small laugh, as she folded the tops.

Dawn smiled. "Yeah, we can just leave the rest in the suitcase, since they're just shoes," she suggested before looking at the time. "Shit, we better hurry, it's after three, I need to study. I definitely want to pass that test on Thursday and don't wanna deal with Paul's grumpiness."

May stopped folding, as she realized something. "Oh yeah, I forgot," she said, and the blunette looked at her curiously. "Why does Paul have your phone?"

Dawn blinked in confusion. She completely forgot about it; she was so busy packing. "Paul has my-" she stopped when she realized she had forgotten to retrieve her phone back. "Oh…I must have left it there by accident," she lied. "How'd you know he has my phone?"

"Because I called, and he answered. And hell, he sure is grumpy. Sounded like something crawled in his ass and died," May said, and Dawn crossed her arms, waiting for more. "What?" the brunette asked innocently. Dawn gave her a 'really' look and May rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, I called at six in the morning…and kinda rung a lot…" she finally admitted.

"May, you've got to stop doing that," she shook her head in disbelief.

"Hey, I was only calling to see if you wanted help packing!" she defended. "Besides, I didn't know that he had your phone."

"Neither did I," Dawn said.

"Your phone's password protected?"

"Of course."

May looked relieved. "Oh good, then he won't see the texts that we sent each other," she said, recalling the texts about Paul.

"Yeah, thank Arceus!" Dawn laughed. "Oh, but I need my phone, I took some pictures of notes."

"Oh…" May said, "Then we gotta call and see if Paul answers." She took out her phone and handed it to her. "I'm not ever speaking to him again," she said before Dawn laughed and dialled her number.

After a few rings, Paul's voice was heard. "Hello? Look, you've picked a wrong time, I'm busy, so make it quick." His tone was rough, but Dawn ignored it.

"Paul, it's me," she spoke.

"Oh," he said. "What do _you_ want?"

She ignored the sour tone in his voice. "I want my phone."

"You'll get it Monday," he said.

She shook her head. "No, I need it right now. I have some notes in there."

"Well, I'm working right now, so you're going to have to wait," Paul replied.

"Where do you work? I can come get it, I need those notes to study."

"Chansey Fancy."

"You work _there?"_ Dawn asked in surprise.

"Why?"

"That's my favorite restaurant, I eat there almost all the time!" Dawn squealed.

"Surprising," he added sarcastically.

She wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. She rolled her eyes. "I'm coming over there in ten," she said before the line was cut off. She handed the phone back to May. "Okay, I'm gonna head over to Chansey Fancy."

"I'm coming with."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Why? I thought you never wanted to speak to Paul."

"I'm giving you company, not talking to that jerk."

"It was your fault, y'know," Dawn reminded her.

"Whatever, let's just go."

* * *

 _ **3:30pm; Chansey Fancy**_

Paul's day had not been the best. There had been a swarm of customers in the early morning, and he had accidentally mixed up people's orders. They'd complain about the lack of satisfactory customer service, and no one tipped Paul. To add to that, while he was cleaning up, he had broken two plates. He was told that a chunk would be out of his salary. He was pissed at himself and he had to stop messing up.

A bell chimed, and the two girls looked around for Paul. (Well, May was looking at the decor) Soon enough, she spotted him cleaning the tables. "Paul!" she exclaimed and he turned around. He nodded before he went behind the counter, as Dawn waited patiently.

Soon enough, he was out with her phone in his hand and handed it back to her. "Thanks," she said, and Paul only nodded.

"Why don't we get something to drink while we're here?" May suggested.

"I don't think we really need to-"

"It's hot, Dawn," May interrupted. "Besides, this is your favorite restaurant."

Dawn wondered why May was being so adamant, but she'd never dare to argue with May. She shrugged. "I guess a drink couldn't hurt."

"What do you guys want?" Paul asked with a bored expression.

"Is that how you greet your customers?" Dawn asked in slight disbelief. Paul groaned in annoyance. "Okay, geez. I'll have the strawberry shake and May will get the chocolate shake."

Paul nodded, but then stopped as the name registered in his brain. He looked at the brunette slightly, who was slightly smiling, before he walked away muttering something inaudible under his breath. _Of course,_ he thought, and instructed the order to the cook. When the milkshakes were done, he placed them on a silver platter and walked carefully to the girls' table.

"Thanks, Paul," Dawn said when he placed them on their table. He didn't respond and turned around.

"Hey Paul," May stood up and faced him. Dawn was a bit surprised she took the initiative to talk to him. Was she going to apologize? Paul waited for her to say something, and then, without any warning, May took the chocolate shake and practically dumped it on his head. Dawn stood up, her jaw dropping in utter shock while Paul stood there in anger, the brown liquid dripping from his purple locks.

May smirked. "That's what you get for being a sour ass."

That's it. Paul was done. He had to deal with annoying customers, listen to his inconsiderate boss's ridiculous demands, and avoid making too much mistakes, but this just ticked him off completely. "Get out."

That sounded like a warning, but May didn't falter while Dawn had nearly flinched. "Get the fuck out!" That was when May gulped a little before the two ran out of the restaurant.

"May! What the-Why'd you do that?!" Dawn exclaimed once they had been far enough from the restaurant. "Are you insane?!"

"Hey! He deserves it! That guy's a total prick!"

"Arceus, May, was it really necessary?"

May rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's not that big of a deal. Why are you defending him in the first place? He's been nothing but rude to you ever since you met him, I'm doing you a favour. You should be thankful."

Dawn frowned. "Sure, he's rude. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start being rude too. And besides, it was your fault, regardless of the way he spoke to you."

May shrugged in response, and Dawn groaned exasperatingly. Honestly, May acted pretty immature at times. Dawn shook her head in disbelief, and then widened her eyes as she saw Paul crossing the street. "Paul!" she exclaimed before she ran up to him.

He turned his back once she approached him. "Paul, wait," she said, effectively making him stop. "I know May probably won't apologize, but I'm gonna apologize on her behalf. I'm really sorry. May's a bit immature, but I swear she means good at heart. She was just upset over the way you spoke to her on the phone."

He didn't move for a few seconds, and he turned around. "Well congratulate your friend, because I just got fired."

Dawn's eyes widened. "I..I'm so sorry..." she offered. "Maybe you can-"

"Just leave me alone," Paul said, and Dawn stopped. This wasn't her fault, in fact she was apologizing for what May did.

He spoke again. "Just. Leave."

Dawn figured he was too pissed to think straight. Without any hesitation, the blunette turned against her heel and walked away.

* * *

 ** _Well, that was quite the chapter, don't you think guys? I liked writing this chap for some reason, it was really fun. Anyways, as usual let me know your thoughts of whether you hated or loved it._**

 ** _See you next time :D_**


	7. Denial

**_I am back with an all new chapter for you guys. There's not much to say here except read. :)_**

* * *

 ** _August 31st; May's residence; 11:03 am_**

Dawn's eyes fluttered open before she rubbed them and yawned. The blunette looked around her surroundings for a bit; she had almost forgot that this wasn't her room. It was May's. She was going to have to start to getting used to this family. "Morning, May," she looked over to where May's bed was, and noticed it was empty.

Shrugging, she went into the bathroom. After brushing and taking a warm shower, she picked up her phone from the bedside table and noticed she had a text from May.

 _9:34 May: Hey if ur up, just wanted to tell u that Max and I went grocery shopping with mom. We'll be back in maybe two hours. I wud hve invited u but i didn't wanna disturb u cuz u were sleeping._

Dawn smiled. She was really lucky to have May as one of her best friends. If it wasn't for her or Leaf, heaven knows what she'd do. Sure, May was a bit agressive and did have anger issues, but she always had a kind heart, and thats why Dawn and her got along so well.

Dawn had met May when she was around eight. May was from Hoenn, and would always visit Leaf (her cousin) during every summer here in Kalos. Leaf had invited Dawn one day to meet her, and they clicked instantly. The three of them had become best friends during their childhood, and Dawn was happy that May and her family had permanently moved to Kalos.

There was a period of time where May didn't visit for at least two years, and it was then that May had suddenly changed. She no longer had the drive to put a smile on her face, and for her, life had lost all meaning. She had become very depressed, and felt that the world was crumbling beneath her. She had felt scared and helpless. Her family was there to support her, and luckily, Leaf was also there to convince her otherwise. She had supported her during May's stage of depression, and visited her in Hoenn for a while to change her back to the way she was before. It took an excruciating amount of time to get back the old May back, and they were grateful that everything was normal now. May was no longer depressed, but happy and pleased for having such supportive people around her.

While taking out some fruit loops from the kitchen, Dawn heard the doorbell, interrupting her thoughts. The blunette ran up to the door and opened it.

On the front entrance was a familiar face. He was standing there awkwardly, while Dawn was just utterly confused and a bit shocked. "Drew? What are you doing here?" she asked.

He sheepishly scratched his hair. "This must be the wrong place," he said softly.

"What?"

"Nothing," he coughed. "I could have sworn the Maples live here," he muttered under his breath. Dawn smirked and crossed her arms.

"I see what's going on. You're stalking May, aren't you?"

He scoffed. "I'm no stalker. That's just downright creepy." He rolled his eyes.

Dawn, however was not convinced. "Hm. Then why are you here? You didn't know that I now live here, so don't tell me that you were here to see me," she said, continuing to smirk.

Drew cursed under his breath. "I'm not-" Dawn's words were now registered in his head. "Wait what? You live here now?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Since mom's in the hospital, I can't really live by myself for too long; I'm technically still not of legal age to live on my own yet, so yeah, I'm living with May now."

Drew frowned; he felt sorry for his blunette friend. "When did you move in?"

"Just yesterday," she replied. "It's not bad, I'm sure living with your best friend will be fun."

He nodded. "Yeah, I sure wish I could. My friend Ash is always busy, Gary lives too far and Paul...well I really have no words about Paul," he said, letting out a stiff chuckled. Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"Are you talking about Paul Shinji?" she asked curiously. "Because we kinda know each other, I guess? He's my tutor," she said.

"Oh, how's that going for you?" he asked.

Dawn frowned. "Not so good. We had a tutoring session, and he was downright being mean and demanding, like if he was the boss of me or something. He always has something bitter to say to me, and sometimes-"

"Yeah, I get it, that's Paul for ya," Drew cut her off, laughing. "Good luck."

Dawn bit her lip. "Well, I wasn't done yet," she sighed. "Paul got fired from his job yesterday."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, and he got fired because of May. May had called my cell phone early at six am, but my phone was with Paul by accident. He picked it up, and I think he told her off or something. She was pretty upset. Anyways so later we went to where he worked to get my phone back, and we ordered smoothies for us. May was still upset with Paul so she dumped a smoothie over him; she has a fiery personality sometimes. And he sort of sweared and chased us out of the restaurant," she explained. Drew stared at her processing the story, and then he burst out laughing.

Dawn was appauled. "This isn't funny, Drew, it's serious! Paul got fired because of May."

Drew continued laughing. "I'm laughing because," he chuckled, "May sure had the guts to do that. Arceus sorry, but that story sounded really funny to me," he said. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Both individuals looked towards the source of the voice and Drew turned around, suddenly satisfied to hear May's voice.

"April," he said, and then noticed the bags in her hands. "Let me help you with that," he offered but May took a step backwards.

She looked at him as if he had grown two heads. "What's with the nickname? My name is May not April. And again, what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"

Drew chuckled. "Relax, April," he said, intentinally avoiding her questions and instead took the bags from her hands and walked inside the house.

May grew a bit furious. Who did he think he was, barging into someone's house like that? "Okay, honestly, get out before I-"

"Why am I carrying so much bags?" Max complained from behind them, struggling to carry about four to five bags. Dawn took a few bags from his hands and kept them on the kitchen counter. Max gave her a small thanks before noticing his sister talking to someone.

"Okay Drew, you've helped me with my bags. Thanks. Now I don't mean to be rude but please. You need to leave, I'm sorry," May instructed. Her eyes widened once his lips curve into a smirk.

Drew had to admit; her fiery personality was strangely attractive to him. He didn't know why, but when he saw her annoyed, he had grown a bit amused. He noticed her eyebrows crease in even more anger.

"Ooh, who's this, your boyfriend?" Max teased. May face-palmed; she was going to kill Max later. Meanwhile, Dawn was just enjoying the show, giggling.

"No!" she exclaimed, and she noticed Drew's smirk widening. "We barely know each other."

Max looked unconvinced. "Then why is he here?"

Drew's smirk faltered as he explained. "I heard Dawn was living here now." Dawn knew he was lying instantly but didn't interrupt him, "So I thought I'd visit her. Of course, now it's going to be a benefit now that I know Dawn's safe." He noticed May's eyebrow raise with curosity. Of course he knew what he had just uttered was bullshit. The real reason he was here was because he wanted to see May, and he had found out where May lived when Leaf told him.

Of course he wasn't gonna admit that. At least not yet anyway.

Caroline then entered the room. "Sorry I took so long kids, I was parking the car..." she then eyed Drew. "Hello and who might you be?"

"I'm Drew. I go to your daughter's school," he replied. May was now pissed. Now this stranger was merting the whole family, it seemed. It was a good thing her dad was away on a business trip.

"I see." Caroline nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"Hey Drew, what video games do you play?" Max questioned. May rolled her eyes; she figured he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.

Drew smiled at the fourteen year old. "All kinds."

"Sweet! We should play with my ps4 sometime, it would be so dope!" he exclaimed with excitement.

"Sounds cool," he said. He then noticed May crossing her arms with annoyance which managed to amuse him again. "Well anyways, I should be going. Thanks for having me, Dawn," he said, glancing at Dawn. "And Mrs Maple," he added.

"No problem," Dawn replied.

"You're welcome." Caroline smiled.

He walked to the front entrance, but not before stopping himself and taking one last look at May. She still had her arms crossed, and she wasn't facing him. He hadn't even known her for a whole week yet he was already attracted to her.

"Wait, Drew!" Dawn exclaimed and then walked up to him, directing him outside and closing the door behind them.

Drew was a bit confused. "What's up?"

Dawn sighed. "You need to help Paul out, he's your friend and he lost his job. Maybe you could...help him get another one?" she suggested. Dawn honestly didn't know why she even cared about Paul losing his job; moreover, it wasn't even her fault.

Drew thought it was a good idea, fortunately. It would give him an excuse to get Paul to open up, and develop a bond between the two of them. "Yeah, I'll help the guy out. But shouldn't May be the one suggesting this?"

Dawn shook her head. "I know my friend and she'll _never_ apologize, let alone help him get another job," she said, escaping a small laugh. Drew chuckled.

"Well, I'll see ya around."

* * *

Dawn walked back in the household, and noticed some chattering coming from May's room. Curious, she walked upstairs, and recognized Caroline's and May's voices.

"May, I think you're overreacting," Caroline reasoned and then she noticed Dawn at the foot of the door.

Dawn smiled sheepishly. "Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

Caroline simply smiled. "No, it's fine. You're family now," she said, and then glancing at May who was currently sitting on her bed with a sour look on her face. "Maybe you can talk to May," she suggested. Dawn raised her eyebrows.

"What's wrong May?" Dawn asked, walking in the bedroom and sitting beside May. Caroline decided to leave the two girls in privacy to sort out the problem.

"I don't know," the brunette sighed. "I _was_ overreacting. But, it was just a bit annoying when Drew just barged in here into my house. I don't even know the guy!" she exclaimed. "What a creep."

"He came here to see me," she reminded her, "Not you."

May scoffed, rolling her eyes. She didn't believe that for a second. He was constantly looking at her, and he had that stupid smirk on his face every time that he did look at her. "Yeah, right."

"Okay, come on, I thought it was pretty cute," Dawn said.

May gave her a dubious look. "Okay, stalking people is not cute, it's _creepy._ I mean, how does he even know where I live? I just moved here maybe a week ago."

Dawn shrugged. In her opinion, Drew was making an effort, something most guys wouldn't do today, and she gave him credit for that. "Are you sure you're not just judging Drew because of...you know?" Dawn asked, but then noticed May stiffen a bit. Dawn inwardly cursed herself; she shouldn't have brought May's past up.

But surprisingly, she replied. "No, of course not. I didn't even think about it, to be honest." Her voice was barely audible though. She noticed Dawn's look. "Hey, don't worry, it's totally cool. I'm fine," she reassured her, giving a smile.

Dawn returned the smile. "Good. And I know Drew, he's my friend. Trust me, he's worth it." she winked.

May's cheeks burned. "Dawn, I'm not interested!"

"You say that now, but you'll soon be head over heels for him." The blunette smirked.

May rolled her eyes. "That'll be the day when cows fly."

* * *

 ** _August 31st; Paul's residence; 2:49 pm_**

There was never really a day where Paul had a _complete_ day to himself. Sure, he had some free time, but it was only for a couple of hours. But for the first time in maybe a year, he had a Sunday to himself, and it felt abnormal. It felt unusual just sitting there with a cup of coffee in your hands flipping through the TV channels with nothing to watch.

He sighed irritably. No doubt he felt relaxed, but undoubtedly he had to get another job on the weekends. The plum haired teen knew that the job at the school library wasn't going to be enough. Even though he despised the job, and was (just a little) pleased to be fired, he needed the cash. Money doesn't grow on trees and those house expenses had to be paid somehow.

As Paul took another sip of his black coffee, the doorbell rang. His fingers twisted. He sure hoped it wasn't the landlord asking for the month's rent. He and Reggie never really could have afforded a house in Kalos. "Paul, are you home? It's me, Drew!" Paul closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Once the door opened, Drew exclaimed, "Oh, nice. I was about to walk away."

It was really rare that his chartreuse friend visited him. Paul didn't really like having friends over. "...What are you doing here?"

Drew just chuckled and walked in, avoiding his question. Paul rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him. Paul offered for Drew to sit down on the rugged brown sofa and Paul took a seat next to him. The two stayed quiet, and if it weren't for the television playing, Drew wouldn't know how to start a topic. "So...you watching some football? I love football, I didn't know you were a fan of football...let alone sports," he chuckled awkwardly.

Paul just blinked and continued sipping his coffee.

"Alright," Drew began, "lemme just cut to the chase. Word on the street is that you got fired from your job."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know getting fired was newsworthy information," he said dryly.

"Maybe it's not, but whatever. The point is, I can get you a new one," he offered. Paul stopped sipping his coffee, interested.

"How?"

Drew smiled, seeing his plum haired friend was at least interested. "Well, my uncle happens to own the mall down the street. There are so many vacancies and job openings. I'm sure that if I talk to him, I'll be able to get you a job there. Some of the jobs pay really well."

Paul wasn't sure why Drew was offering to help him out. He hadn't deserved any sort of help coming from him, especially when Paul did nothing but block him every time Drew tried to befriend him. "Look man, I'm sorry that you got fired because of May," Drew said, noticing Paul's hesitation, "but trust me, this is such a great opportunity for ya. I work at the mall on the weekends sometimes. It'll be fun working together. Plus, getting to see all those beautiful girls shopping is definitely a bonus." Drew grinned.

He rolled his eyes at the last bit, but he stood up while Drew did the same. "Give your uncle a call."

* * *

 _ **September 1st; 7:59 am**_

"Thanks, dad!" Leaf exclaimed getting out from her father's truck waving him goodbye. The older looking parent waved back, and Leaf turned her heel running to the school. Her first class was History, and she couldn't afford to be late _again._ She was late three times last week, and Mr. Harold, the strictest teacher in school had given her an earful. She despised that man more than people who hated chocolate. How could anyone hate chocolate?

The brunette ran across the hallway, not caring that she might get in trouble for running in the hallway (which she thought was a stupid rule), and didn't see someone get in her way. And of course, the brunette crashed into someone's body and the two fell onto the floor. After a second or two, she heard the person beneath him groan in pain. Leaf placed a palm over her mouth. "Oh my Arceuse, I'm so sorry! I should have watched where I was going, but I was such in a hurry to get to class, and I didn't wanna have to face Mr. Harold's wrath again and-"

"For a small body, you sure can talk a lot," The voice said, and Leaf recognized that voice instantly.

Leaf's eyes saddened. "Sorry, Gary. Are you okay?"

The spiky haired teen only smiled. "I play football, Leafy. This is nothing," he said and then he added. "I guess I could say that you fell for me." he winked.

Leaf scowled at the flirtatious comment and pushed on his chest to get off of him, but surprisingly, Gary grabbed her waist and yanked her down so that her body was completely attached to his. Leaf gasped, feeling her heart go up a mile. He ran a finger through her hair, sending sparks in Leaf's body. What was he doing? If somebody saw this, they would surely get the wrong idea. He then whispered in her ear huskily, "Do I make you nervous, Leafy?"

Leaf gave him a glare, ignoring the effect that Gary was having on her. She pushed hard on his chest and this time, stood up on her feet. She watched as Gary got up and dusted himself off, and before he noticed, she was already gone.

And the worst part was that Leaf was late for class yet again.

* * *

 _ **Okay so this is a short chapter. Not because I didn't have ideas, but because I felt that this was a good place to end it here. I'm pleased with this chapter, it has a few contestshipping and leafgreenshipping moments. I love those two pairs as well, and I really wanted to give Ikari a break in this chap. Other ships need their moment too!**_

 _ **Also, since Ash is in this story and since I'm used to pearlshipping, I'm conflicted whether or not to pair up Ash with someone. I have a lot of options. Ash can be a bachelor in this story, or he can be paired up with either Serena or Misty. Well, not Misty because I honestly hate pokeshipping (no offense to any pokeshippers reading this). I'm fine with amourshipping, and I'm also fine with him being a bachelor.**_

 _ **Pair up Ash with Serena or no? Give a review and let me know (That rhymes :D )**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to let me know what you think and see you guys next time!**_


	8. Savior

**_September 1st; 9:45am; Chemistry_**

Leaf walked in the classroom and sat down in one of the seats, placing her backpack beside her on the floor. She was the first to enter after her history class ended, which ended pretty quickly since she had missed nearly half of Mr. Harold's lecture due to a certain _someone._ And because she was late again, she had detention this afternoon. She groaned at the thought, and silently cursed Gary in her mind.

More students started piling in the classroom, and she was hoping that Gary would skip this class. She had bolted as soon as she was free from Gary's arms, and she was a bit embarrassed. The brunette than internally slapped herself. What was she thinking? Gary was just like any other guy out there that plays girls. He didn't truly have any sort of romantic feelings for a girl, and would never anyway. She had to make sure she wouldn't fall for his charms to get heartbroken like the other girls out there.

Dawn and May both entered the classroom. Dawn took a seat beside Leaf. "Hey my other bestie!" she grinned. Leaf smiled half-heartedly, contuining with her thoughts. Dawn gave May a look, and May shrugged not knowing the situation. "Leaf, is something wrong?"

Leaf looked at her blunette friend. "Dawn, I'm not those type of girls."

May looked at her cousin confused. "What?"

"I don't understand," Dawn added.

Before Leaf could continue, her eyes widened when she saw Gary entering the classroom, followed by Drew and Ash. The three were talking amongst themselves, and Leaf tried her best to divert her eyes somewhere else and was also praying he didn't look at her.

Dawn and May still looked confused, but they decided to talk to Leaf later when Ms Amy made an entrance. The tall blonde said nothing to the class and instead scribbled something on the white board. She turned around facing the class, and pointed at the word. "Periodicity. Can anyone tell me what this means?" she asked. As usual, there was no response. She then looked at a student. "Mr. Gary Oak," she mused. Gary looked up at her. "Answer the question."

With no hesitation, Gary explained, "It's just basically when atoms of the same group have similar electronic structures and chemical properties," he said with a bored expression. Ms Ana smiled looking satisfied.

"Good, okay class did you get that?"

Of course Gary was a smart one in science, and Leaf knew that. But she hated the way he was so arrogant about almost everything, even his answer portayed some ego in there. She remembered the day when he was assigned to be his lab partner for the entire semester. Whenever they'd work in the lab, he'd always flirt with her and tease her. The worst part is, that every time she'd blush in embarrassment, and she felt like she was succumbing to his ways.

Well, not anymore. Enough was enough.

She didn't realize that Ms Ana was talking. "Okay since I've explained in further detail and provided examples on what periodicity is, I'm going to pass these worksheets out for you guys to work on. Don't worry guys, it won't take too long. You can work with the person that's next to you."

May turned to the left, and suddenly froze when she saw the familiar chartreuse headed male beside her. Was he there the whole time? Drew let the smallest of smirks show, and brought his seat next to her. "Hey partner," he said while May rolled her eyes in response. Of course she had to get paired up with this grasshead.

Dawn looked at Leaf happily, and she slided her chair closer towards her. The blunette thought this was a perfect opportunity to find out what exactly she had meant earlier. "So...what did you mean when you said that you're not those type of girls?"

Leaf whispered, "Gary thinks I'm going to fall for his charms." Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I mean, he probably thinks that I'm going to fall in love with him just so he could play me and dump me afterwards. Well, I'm smarter than that," she crossed her arms, her eyes darting to Gary who was sitting beside Ash.

Dawn looked at the blank worksheet that needed to be filled, then looked at her friend. "You believe those rumours?"

Leaf scoffed. "They're not rumours, it's true. He's a player."

"Okay...and your proof is?"

Leaf rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Whatever, let's just finish this worksheet."

Meanwhile May was filling out the worksheet, and it was only after a few minutes that she noticed that Drew wasn't even helping. Instead he was shaking his leg and looking at his phone that was hidden under his desk cleverly. "What are you doing?" she asked.

In response, he slided the phone towards her so she could grab it. She looked at it curiously and noticed answers to the worksheet. "Are you crazy?" she whisper yelled. "We'll get caught!"

Drew rolled his eyes and touched May's free hand that was placed on the desk. "Relax, June," he said but then he noticed she flinched instantly and pulled her hand back. He raised an eyebrow.

"Y-you can cheat your way out, but don't involve me in it," she warned, sliding back his phone and contiuing to work on the worksheet. Drew smirked at the stutter.

"Never cheated before have you?" he was whispering to her, and his voice sounded very tempting.

May shook her head. "Never have, never will."

"Cute," he remarked, and he noticed her cheeks redden instantly. She was so innocent, and Drew added that to the list of things he liked about her.

* * *

 _ **11:05 am**_

The three girls walked out of Chemistry, and Dawn took out her schedule to look at her next class. "I have English next period." she announced. "How about you guys?" she looked at them.

"Calculus," they both replied in unison.

Dawn nodded before approaching her locker. She took out her English text, closing the locker. Suddenly, something fell out of her textbook, and she raised a curious brow and reached down to pick it up. Her breath stilled once she saw that it was a photograph. It was Dawn when she was just eight years old, sitting on her mother's lap. Her mother had let out a radiant smile embracing her daughter. This was her favorite picture of them together. It brought back memories; memories of when they were happy.

May noticed her blunette friend quiet. "Dawn, are you alright?"

Dawn's back was facing towards them. They didn't see her tears. "Yeah," she replied. "No need to worry." At this point, she knew she was lying. Even her voice betrayed her; it sounded broken.

Leaf turned her around, and her face softened to see her crying. She noticed the photograph in her hand. "Dawn..." she said before reaching out to hug her tightly. "I know it's hard. But you _have_ to be strong."

"Yeah," May added, "It may seem tough right now, but I'm sure that everything will be fine soon. You've just gotta be patient, and wait for your mother to recover. And besides, you're living with me for the meanwhile, which by the way, is totally fun!"

Dawn smiled, letting go of Leaf to wipe her tears, and embraced the two of them. "I know. Sorry, I just saw the photo and...I got emotional."

"Totally understandable," May waved her off with a hand, "It happens."

"It's been a week since I've visited her," Dawn realized.

"You should go today," Leaf suggested.

Dawn sighed. "Yeah, but how? I have a tutoring session with Paul until around five today, and May will already be home. And the hospital's way too far from the school."

"I could wait for you," May cut in.

"No, you can't," Dawn said.

"Why not?"

"Because your mom told you this morning to pick up Max from school, since she's going to be at the airport picking up your dad. Remember?" she gave her a pointed look.

May smiled sheepishly and scratched her head. "Whoops, I forgot," she admitted, resulting in the three of them laughing.

"I have detention this afternoon for being late again, and Mr. Harold would be pissed as hell, if I skipped it. So I can't either," Leaf explained.

"I'll figure something out," Dawn said.

* * *

 _ **4:01 pm**_

Dawn saw him at the usual place, sitting at the back of the library, his head buried in a book. Before she walked forward, she made sure that she turned off her phone to avoid any sort of distractions. Her Math test was this Thursday, and she had only managed to study a few notes on Sunday. She had been occupied unpacking and settling in. She couldn't afford to waste any time now.

She took a seat in front of Paul, and took out her books. She didn't want any trouble this time around and got straight into working on a few problems. That lasted for about five minutes before she realized that Paul still hadn't removed the book. Did he even notice she was here? It was then she realized what book he was reading.

"You read Nicholas Sparks book?" she asked in disbelief. This time, Paul removed the book from his face, and noticed her look of shock. "I love his books, I didn't realize you were the romance type."

"I was bored," he replied dryly, and closed the book. "Did you study over the weekend?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, a little. It was a pretty busy weekend, and all."

Paul said nothing, and then directed her over to some problems in her textbook, instructing her to do them. Dawn only nodded in response before she began working on them. Even though she worked on it a bit slower, she still understood the concepts. After about fifteen minutes, she handed them over to the plum haired male for him to check them. Paul glanced over the paper a couple of times.

"Wow," he commented.

Dawn looked at him expectantly. "What? Did I get all of them right?" she asked hopefully.

Paul glanced at her. "Out of the ten problems, you got _one_ right." Dawn looked at him in disbelief. "Some great studying you did over the weekend huh? I would think you'd at least make some improvement, but no, this is just proving that you're pathetic."

"Pathetic?" she exclaimed. "I'm trying!"

"Well it's not enough. The test is on Thursday, you've got only three days of practicing. I've explained the concepts to you already. Do you want to fail again?" he asked.

Dawn looked at him as if he had grown two heads. What kind of question was that? "Of course not."

"Then _focus_ ," he told her. "You're not putting your entire effort into it. You're drifting into thoughts every time you work on a problem, or you're letting that disease get into your head."

Dawn sighed. Surprisingly, he was right, and Dawn was even more surprised how he was able to figure that out so quickly. "Are you some kind of mind reader or something?"

"It's called being smart. Perhaps you should try it sometime."

Dawn rolled her eyes, ignoring the comment, and worked on the problems again.

* * *

 _ **4:58 pm**_

The blunette looked at Paul expectantly. She really hoped that she had gotten those problems correct this time; she needed at least a decent B on this test. "Well? Tell me!" she demanded.

Paul looked at her and said, "One."

Why he was being so vague, she'd never know. "One what?" Did she only get one right again?

"One wrong," he clarified with a small smirk.

Dawn's lips lifted into a smile. "That means I got nine out of ten right!" she squealed. They were lucky that the library was empty.

"You know your numbers, I'm surprised," he said, his tone full of sarcasm.

"Jerk," she commented. Paul said nothing, and then Dawn turned on her phone to look at the time. It was exactly five in the evening. If she walked to the hospital, it'd take at least an hour. At this point, walking sounded tiresome, especially in this heat wave that was outside. The blunette looked at Paul, wondering if she should ask him for a ride. Oh, who was she kidding? The last time she did that, she ended up alone in the school and had to walk home alone in heavy rains. She surely wasn't taking the risk again.

She checked her purse for some cash, and just decided to call for a taxi. "Hello? I'd like to call for a Poke-Uber at Lumoise High School. This is Dawn Berlitz. I'm going to Lumoise Hospital...what? I have to wait two hours? That's ridiciculous. Just forget it," she cut off the call. She hated the taxi service, what was the point of waiting two hours for a half hour drive? The service was so inefficient.

Looks like she literally had no choice. "Paul?" she looked at him, who was currently wearing headphones. He liked reading and music, it seemed.

He sensed her stare and looked at her, taking off his headphones. "What?"

"Can you _please_ drive me to the hospital?" she asked in the most polite way as possible.

He sneered. "Why would I do that?" he placed his headphones in his backpack, and started packing up.

Dawn wasn't surprised at his reply but still protested. "Look, all I'm asking is for you to drop me to the hospital. It's really important. I would have walked, but walking takes an hour to get there, whereas by car, I can get there in under a half hour. I tried calling for a taxi, but that's useless too since I have to wait two hours for them to pick me up."

Paul sighed. What did that have to do with him? "And that's supposed to concern me?"

"You're the only one that I know that's in this school after five that can drop me there. Please, just once," she pleaded. "Then I'll get out of your hair."

"Don't you think I have places to be? Stuff that I have to do?" Paul retorted. "I have a lot of work to do, and you just expect me to take time out for you and drop you to the hospital and probably drop you back home?"

At this point, it just seemed like he was making up excuses. "Oh, I'm _so sorry_ that you can't take at least a half hour and do something good for once in a while. I forgot that you have a heart of _stone_ , not gold!" she yelled. "Do you know what happened the last time? I was left there in the heavy rains for hours! And it was your fault!"

Paul scoffed. "Please, just because your parents couldn't buy the princess a car doesn't mean it's my fault."

What did he think she was? A spoiled brat? "You know what? Forget it! Go to hell!" she spat in his direction. Paul watched her with a bored expression as she took her respective belongings and stormed out of the library in anger. When she was gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

After school ended, May picked up Max from his high school so they'd both go home waiting for their father to come back from his business trip. Their father, Norman Maple, owned one of the biggest companies in Lumoise, and he was called in for a business trip in Sinnoh. Their father was busy most of the time, and was only at home sometimes, but both kids were still grateful for having a hard working father that provided for them.

Max sat down on the couch. "I can't wait 'till dad gets home."

"I know," May added, "I missed him. I wonder if mom told him Dawn moved here?"

"I heard he's bought me a new game console," Max said excitedly.

May rolled her eyes. "Are video games all you care about? Dad's going to be home soon after not seeing him for a week, and video games is what you care about?" she looked at her brother expectantly.

Max crossed his arms. "Can't I care about both my dad and the video game?"

May face-palmed. "Idiot."

Max rolled his eyes. "Very mature. Anyways, I'm hungry."

May looked at him. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well," he said, putting his legs up on the table and putting his hands at the back of his head, "you could be a great older sis and whip me up a sandwich." He grinned.

May fake smiled and dragged the table in front of her so his legs would fall back to the ground. "Nice try. There's this thing called the kitchen and food supplies, have you ever heard of it?"

Max nodded. "Yeah...it's where you'll be making my sandwich," he said in a 'duh' tone.

May scoffed. "No, its where you'll make _your own_ sandwich," she said, clicking her tongue before walking ahead of him.

Max groaned to himself. "I have to do everything in this house," he said, muttering before going to the kitchen.

* * *

 _ **5:35 pm**_

Leaf exited detention, very exhausted. The brunette just spent three hours filing Mr. Harold's papers, checking students tests, and cleaning the auditorium. The only good thing she enjoyed about these tasks was marking the students tests, especially where she had to fill out the comment section. If a student had gotten nearly or all right, she'd comment, 'Nerd, you have no life' or if a student failed, she'd comment, 'Did you even study for this test? Loser, good luck in summer school'. Yes, she was fully aware that she'd probably get in more trouble for the insulting comments, but it was worth it.

The brunette stopped outside when she saw Gary talking to someone. Or more specifically, a _girl_. He continued talking to her for at least a minute, and even though Leaf couldn't hear the conversation, she had to admit she was curious about his new 'play-toy' for the week. _The poor sucker_ , Leaf thought as she shook her head.

"Oh, there you are, Leafy." Leaf looked up at Gary who was a few feet away from her. What did he mean, was he waiting for her?

The girl that was with him had vanished mysteriously."What are you still doing here? It's after five."

"Well," he started, "I felt sorta bad that you got into detention because of me...so I decided I'll make it up for you by giving you a ride home," he suggested.

Leaf snorted. Was this his new game? "Thanks, I'm good. My dad's picking me up."

"Are you sure?" Gary protested.

"Yup."

Gary shook his head in disbelief, chuckling. "I waited almost three hours for this."

"I didn't ask you to," the brunette reminded him.

"True, but I wanted to," he said. His brown dark eyes pierced into her eyes, trapping her for a second, but Leaf shook her head. "What?"

"Stop," she said. "I'm not those type of girls."

What the hell did she mean by that? "What?" he said, utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

Leaf rolled her eyes not believing his innocent facade, and then saw her dad's truck. She ignored his question and skipped past him, hopping into her dad's truck. She didn't bother to look at Gary once the truck started, but there was one question constantly popping in her mind.

Who was that girl?

* * *

Dawn had been walking for at least five blocks now, and her legs were sore already. It was a rough ninety degrees outside, and her entire back was wet from all the sweating. Her throat felt dry, and before she collapsed, she decided to take a break and sit down on a bench that just happened to be sitting there coincidentally. _Thank Arceus_ , the blunette thought as she let her feet rest. She noticed she was in an empty area, and could only see about two houses in front of her. And the houses looked like the average house, not like the house she used to live in.

The sun was beginning to set, and Dawn smiled seeing the sky's mixed colours of red, orange and yellow. It was amazing what nature could do. Dawn's eyes were beginning to droop close and soon enough, she fell asleep.

About a half hour later, her eyes momentarily opened, and she saw a figure standing in front of her. She immediately sat upright widening her eyes in realization to Paul, who was giving her a weird look. "Paul? What are you doing here?"

Paul stood there, still giving her the same look. "I live here."

Dawn blinked. "What?" She looked around, and then she noticed his vehicle parked across the street next to the average looking house. This was where he lived? "You live in that small house over there?" she asked, not noticing how insulting that might have sounded, and she wanted to bite her tongue off when she noticed Paul's angered expression. Though, now that she thought about it, she should have realized that Paul was a bit poor, especially with his rugged looking vehicle.

"You were sleeping on the bench," he pointed out, "I didn't realize the bench was the hospital."

Dawn laughed sarcastically. "Ha, ha, _so funny._ " she sighed. "I just sat here for a couple of minutes because I was tired, and fell asleep. I didn't know this was where you lived."

Paul snorted. "Of course you can't handle a bit of walking."

"Oh, just go already! If you really have nothing nice to say to me, then please don't say anything."

Paul said nothing, smirking. Dawn scowled; she was really, really starting to get annoyed.

The two suddenly heard thunder cackle and in a split of a second, rain started pouring down without any sort of warning. Dawn gasped, getting drenched, and Paul's purple locks were on his shoulders drenched as well. "Great, how am I going to get to the hospital now?"

Paul shrugged indifferently. "Your problem, not mine," he said, turning his head and beginning to walk across the street. Dawn didn't expect anything more from him, and shivered from the cold rains.

She stood up from the cold bench, and rubbed her palms across her arms in an attempt to warm her, but it was doing no good. And the skirt that she was currently wearing made it worse as she walked forward. Her lips were quivering, and her entire body was shaking. She stopped walking and just stood still, trying to warm herself.

A car horn honked, and she suddenly turned left and widened her eyes as the car headlights were approaching her. The blunette screamed, closing her eyes before she felt someone push her violently, out of the way. Still clenching her eyes shut, her heart was beating as she held the person tighter. She was breathing heavily, and she was lucky the heavy rains were hiding her tears. She had never been so scared in her life.

Her eyes opened, and she registered hands on her waist. Dawn looked up slightly, and moved back to meet Paul's eyes. Paul's intoxicating eyes were boring into her sapphire eyes, and she suddenly realized that she had never been this close to Paul before. And more importantly, he had literally _saved her life._

Rain continued to pour on the streets.

Paul's eyes wavered a bit, and then stepped back, giving them distance. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you stand in the middle of the road? Do you want to get killed?"

Dawn didn't answer; she didn't think she could. Paul growled in annoyance before he grabbed her hand forcefully, and carefully took her across the street. Dawn looked at him in surprise when he brought her over to his car. "Sit in the car," he said.

Dawn's eyes widened. "What?"

"Can't you hear? I said, sit in the car, I'm taking you home," he said before he opened the door and sat in the driver's seat.

Dawn opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. "But, I need to go to the hospital," she said.

"Don't be stupid, Dawn. It's raining, and you nearly got killed. Give me your address so I can take you home," he said, backing the vehicle out. To say Dawn was shocked was a total understatement. Not only did he save her, but he was also offering to drop her home? However, Dawn gave him May's address, and the two were off.

* * *

The car halted to a stop, and Dawn looked across the window, seeing the house across the street. They had reached in under twenty minutes. Paul looked at the house. "I'm not surprised you live here," he said.

"It's not mine," she said, not seeing any reason to give any further explanation. Paul just nodded in understanding. Dawn glanced at him, biting her lip. For the first time ever, Dawn had witnessed Paul doing something good for once. "Thanks," she said.

Paul nodded in response, and Dawn got out of the vehicle, closing the door behind her. She watched as the car started and sped away. Sighing, she walked towards the front door, completely drenched, and rang the doorbell. In seconds, the door opened, revealing a tall man. Dawn's eyes widened.

She didn't expect Norman Maple to see her like this.

* * *

 _ **Wow, I think this is the fastest I've updated in years!**_

 _ **This is a much longer chapter than what I gave you guys the other day, and I'm really satisfied with it, and with the entire plot. This is also one of the biggest ikarishipping moment to have ever happened since the beginning of this story, so I really hope you guys enjoyed it. And the next update won't be so soon, I have other stories as well that I have to update as well haha.**_

 _ **Review please! Even if it's only two to three reviews per chap, I still appreciate it.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, and see you guys next time!**_


	9. Anger

_**6:49 pm.**_

The blunette was completely drenched when Norman had opened the door, and he looked a bit surprised to see his daughter's friend like this. Water was literally dripping from her locks and clothes.

Before she could say anything, May approached the front door. "Who is it, dad? Is it-Dawn?" she exclaimed in shock and gasped. "Oh my Arceus, you're soaking wet!"

Dawn smiled sadly at the two. "Yeah...I got stuck in the rain," she simply said and then looked at Norman apologetically. "I'm really sorry you had to see me like this," she gestured to herself.

All Norman did was crack a smile. "Sorry? What for, dear? It's no big deal, really I'm just glad you're at home safe now. May's been worrying about you, and whenever she's stressed, I'm stressed." He grinned. Dawn was thankful that May's father was very understanding and caring. "We'll talk afterwards, you should go dry up. My wife will be making dinner in a while," he suggested.

Dawn smiled as she entered. "Thank you."

* * *

Dawn exited the bathroom and closed the door behind her, drying her hair with a towel. The scent of strawberries had now filled the room and Dawn sighed satisfactorily to herself. She walked over to her closet, grabbing a brush from one of the drawers, and tried to untangle her hair. While brushing her bangs, her mind suddenly flashed to Paul.

If he hadn't been there...then there was no doubt in her mind that she would have been a goner. Looking back, she honestly would have never thought that Paul would go out of his way to save her life. He wasn't even obligated to drop her home, but he did anyway. Dawn wasn't sure why he had done it, but all she knew was that she was grateful towards him.

A knock was heard on the door and Dawn turned around looking at the door. "Come in!"

The door opened and Max entered. "Hey if you're ready and stuff, you can join us for dinner downstairs."

The blunette nodded. "I'll be there, thanks."

* * *

Dawn walked downstairs and noticed the family gathering around the dining table. May was setting up the plates while Caroline was busy serving the food to her kids and husband. She had never had a fatherly presence in her household, so seeing Norman seated there was a bit abnormal. There was never really a time where she and her mother actually sat together and had a decent meal, she'd always just eat her dinner in her room because her mother was always so busy.

"Hey, Dawn, what are you doing over there? Come on, it's dinner!" May said from across the dinner table. Nodding, she approached the table and sat down on one of the available seats. Caroline served some food on her plate, and Dawn saw some brown rice, chicken, mac and cheese, and salad on the side. Her eyes lighted up from the aroma of the food and she immediately took a bite.

"I really missed you, dad. I'm so glad you're back home now," May said, "it's been a while since we've had chess nights!" she exclaimed as she took a bite of her mac and cheese. As a father-daughter bond, May and her father used to have chess competitions every Sunday, just for fun. Norman was away for a few months and May really had missed moments like those with her father.

Her father smiled at his daughter. "I know; I've missed you too-I've missed everyone and great news for all of you: I'm going to be staying here for at least two months."

Max's eyes twinkled with happiness. "Yes!"

Caroline smiled. "This day has gotten better now that you're here," she said, smiling.

Both their kids rolled their eyes. "Oh, brother," Max said, internally groaning as he then took a sip of his orange juice. Caroline and Norman both chuckled. Dawn watched in slight amusement. She had never imagined having dinner with a full family before, it was really rare, and she smiled at the thought. "Can you pass the salt?" Max looked at Dawn, to which she nodded and handed him the salt and resumed to eating her dinner.

"So, Dawn, how are you liking it in this family so far? Obviously May has told me so much about you, but I can never forget your face when you were little and kept hanging out with May," Norman chuckled.

Dawn smiled. "I love it, living with May is so much fun. I've always wanted a sister of my own since I'm an only child, so living with May definitely is worth it," she said. May grinned at her blunette friend.

"I wish I was an only child," Max muttered, while his fork was carefully playing with the brown rice on his plate.

"I heard that, you little brat!" May deadpanned.

"No screaming at the dinner table!" Caroline yelled, and the other four members of the household gave her a dubious look. "Max and May," she told them, "you two are getting older, but you're not growing up."

May stared at her incredulously. "He started it," she said. Caroline face-palmed. May just sighed and continued eating without making any kind of eye contact with her mom or dad, who were probably giving her a shook of disbelief. Sometimes, the brunette hated being the older child. She'd _always_ get accused or blamed for something that goes out of hand, solely for the reason that she was older, and being older meant taking up greater responsibility.

"Hey, May, when we're finished dinner, maybe we could study together, we do have a Math test on Thursday," Dawn offered, pulling May out of her thinking space.

May nodded from across the table. "Sure!"

Norman perked up. "You know, Max _is_ a Math whiz himself," he gestured to Max who grinned knowingly, "you can always ask for his help." May rolled her eyes.

"Dad, this is senior math. Max is in his freshman year, I doubt he'll be able to help us."

Max glared at his older sister. "And why do you say that? I'm smart as hell-I mean...really smart," he said, altering his choices of words he was using in front of his parents, "plus, how hard can it be?"

May pursed her lips. "We're fine, we don't need your help," she said confidently.

Dawn however wasn't against the idea, she thought getting additional assistance from Max was going to be beneficial towards her. The more the help she got, the higher the chances of her improving her Math grades. "Actually, I wouldn't mind," she said. May gaped at her in shock as if she just uttered something stupid.

"Alright, sweet! We'll meet in the 'man cave'," he said, and the two girls watched him in slight confusion. Max rolled his eyes. "In my room, duh," he said, moving his chair slightly back. "Thanks for the dinner, mom and dad, it was awesome as always!" he said before he took his dish and went into the kitchen to rinse off his plate.

Both of their parents smiled warmly. "Max is such a sweetheart. Sure, he may play video games a lot, but he is no doubt a good kid, don't you think, Dawn?"

Dawn had to admit; at first she would have thought that Max would have been a snobbish kid, but she realized he really didn't have that nature. Sure, he was a little egoistic for a small age, but that didn't necessarily mean he was a bad kid. Dawn sure didn't know him too much to give an exact opinion, but she was sure that Max was just like any other brother out there. "Yeah," she said. Dawn noticed May suddenly rise from her seat and place her dish in the sink, not saying a word to her parents. Dawn was then left alone when she left the living room.

Norman sighed. "What happened to May? She barely said a word on the dinner table, which is ironic, because she's the one that usually does all the talking," he chuckled.

"Maybe I'll go see what's up," Dawn offered. "But do you guys need any help washing up?" she asked.

Caroline waved her off with a hand. "Don't worry about it honey, we'll be fine."

Dawn nodded at the two adults and walked upstairs. She noticed May's door was closed and Dawn opened it to find May carrying her textbook in her hand about to walk to the door. "May, is there something wrong?" she asked.

May shook her head. "Nah. I'm fine. Let's go study," she said and walked past her. Dawn raised any eyebrow. May was acting a bit peculiar every time her parents brought Max up but now she was acting like nothing happened at all. Shrugging it off, she grabbed her backpack off of May's dresser and went into Max's room.

* * *

 _ **8:11 pm**_

Max's room was a bit smaller than May's room. It was rather a dark room, with a small bed placed at the center. Beside his bed was his closet which were probably full of dirty clothes. There was a door at the right end of the room; Dawn suspected that it probably was his bathroom. Framed on the walls were several pictures of Max of when he was a little toddler. There was one picture that stood out and it was a family portrait.

Norman and Caroline were standing beside each other wearing matching grins, while May and Max were standing ahead of them. Max was wearing his big dorky black rimmed glasses (he looked seven years old in the picture) and May had a bandana wrapped around her short brown hair. Dawn took a good look at the picture; it was perfect. The whole beauty of this picture was just spellbounding. Dawn was really lucky to be living in this family; in a family that was perfect in her eyes.

Max was seated on his bed when he noticed Dawn gazed. "Uh, Dawn?" Dawn then snapped out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Dawn straightened herself out. "Of course I am, no need to worry!" she grinned.

May rolled her eyes as she pulled up a chair at Max's desk. "Dawn, you really need a new catchphrase," she said, while also giggling a bit.

"Well anyway," Dawn said as she sat next to May, "we should get started." The two girls then pulled out their textbooks.

* * *

 _ **10:54 pm**_

After a couple of hours, Dawn and May went back into their room. They had studied and practiced for over two hours. Max was able to help somewhat, sure he didn't know all the material, but he did help his sister and Dawn to comprehend the problems and such. Dawn was sure she'd pass the test on Thursday.

Dawn was lying on her bed when she heard May exit the bathroom. She had on a pink nightgown. "Ugh, I'm so tired. I don't think I've seen that many numbers in my life," she said jokingly as she jumped into her own bed. "Ah, sweet precious bed, how I've missed you!"

Dawn laughed at her best friend's dramaticness. "I forgot how much you love sleep."

May giggled. "True but if someone were to offer me food over sleep, I'd so go for the food, because c'mon, food is life!" The two girls laughed at May's sense of humour. Suddenly a thought went across May's head. "Hey, Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you go to the hospital today? How'd you come home, did you come walking again?" May asked. She saw Dawn's body stiffen a bit, and her expression was a bit unreadable.

Sighing, Dawn sat on the bed. "I forgot to tell you. I didn't end up going to the hospital," she said.

May scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What? Well, where _did_ you go for over three hours?"

"Okay, you're never going to believe this but," she continued, "I was walking to the hospital-I really had no other option and I got tired halfway so I decided to sit down for a while on this random bench." May was looking at her intensely. "And I fell asleep...for like a half hour."

"How can someone fall asleep on a bench? Are you crazy, Dawn?" May face-palmed. "You should have called me!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not done yet," Dawn cut in. May raised an eyebrow. "When I woke up, I saw Paul there," she said and May immediately had a look of disgust on her face. "It was then that it started to rain and I still had to go to the hospital. I knew Paul wasn't going to offer me a ride, so I continued walking."

"In the rain?!" May asked in disbelief.

"I had no choice!" Dawn retorted. "Anyways long story short...I was about to get knocked by a car, May," she admitted.

This time, May couldn't help but to yell in shock. "What?!" Dawn flinched; she really hoped that May's scream didn't wake anyone up. "Oh my Arc-"

"But," she cut in again, "I didn't," she said, memories of Paul pushing her out of the way embedding her mind. "Paul was there. He...saved me," she said.

May still had a shocked look on her face. "Paul saved you?" Dawn nodded. "Oh my Arceus...I can't believe he actually saved you, I thought he didn't care about you!"

"May if it wasn't for him, then who knows what would've happened," Dawn said. May gave her a look of sympathy.

The brunette nodded. "You're right." She suddenly felt extremely guilty getting Paul fired the other day. The poor guy didn't even deserve it. She walked over to Dawn's bed. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, hugging the blunette tightly.

"Me too," Dawn admitted when the two released. "I think I owe Paul big time," she said.

May shook her head. "No, I do. I got the guy fired, I mean what kind of person am I?" she cringed to herself. "I can sure be a bitch sometimes," she said. Dawn laughed.

"You aren't. And don't worry, Paul's going to get another job soon. Drew told me."

May sighed. "I'm still going to apologize, he didn't deserve it."

Dawn smiled. She didn't know telling the story of how Paul saved her life was going to change her opinion about Paul. "Well, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep," May said as she shifted back into her own bed.

Dawn laid down and tossed to the other side. One thing was for sure though. She knew her opinion regarding Paul had somewhat changed as well.

* * *

That night, Paul couldn't sleep. For some reason, his eyes were closed but both his mind and body were awake. He was in constant thought, and he kept fumbling with his fingers.

His mind occasionally drifted to when he had nearly seen Dawn get hit by a moving vehicle. He didn't know what took over him that he had pushed Dawn away. Of course, he _was_ human, he wasn't a corrupt person to actually let her get hit, but what even surprised himself was that he offered to take her home. He had never imagined he'd want to take someone as annoying and bothersome like her home, but at the same time, though he'd never admit it out loud, he was a bit relieved knowing that she was safe.

He assumed part of the reason why he did save Dawn was Reggie. The reason Reggie was in a coma currently was due to a car accident. With that knowledge embedded, every time Paul would hear of a car accident or someone's death due to a car accident, he'd cringe immediately. He wouldn't like it, because he knew exactly what they were going through. He'd know the pain and suffering that families would endure because of the accident.

He saved her partially because he didn't like the thought of another accident. The other reason? Most likely, because he was a human. Was there another reason?

Honestly, he didn't even know himself.

* * *

 _ **September 2nd; 7:41 am.**_

The next day, the plum haired male was in the school building and walked up to his locker. After taking out his books, he noticed one of Drew's friends talking to an unfamiliar girl. He wasn't sure exactly what their names were, but he had seen them around school. The short carrot-top smiled before she walked in the other direction, leaving the boy alone to himself.

Paul turned to the other direction wanting to walk to his first class, but was stopped by the said boy when he called out his name. "Paul?" He sighed in defeat. How he even knew his name despite being a loner, Paul didn't really know. Reluctantly he turned around, not saying anything but he continued. "Ah, yup you're Paul. I've heard about you from Drew," he said, letting out a grin.

He stiffened. "How'd you recognize me?"

Ash chuckled. "You really give off that whole 'Paul' vibe thing," he said. Paul raised an eyebrow.

"Hm."

Ash laughed. "Drew's right, you don't really say much. Well anyways, I'll catch up with you later," he said, giving his shoulder a light pat before walking past him. Paul sighed to himself. He wasn't really sure if that meant he'd be seeing much more of Ash, and if he had to be honest, he really didn't want to welcome another 'friend' into his life. One person was enough.

* * *

 _ **10:19 am.**_

He stood behind the canvas while seated on a small wooden stool. He stared at the canvas; absolutely nothing but white.

If there was something that Paul found himself enjoying the most, it was _painting._ It was a perfect way to relish and use whatever creativity he had in his mind. It was a visual dance of his own imagination. It gave somewhat of a _voice_ to him, and it allowed him to explore, discover and learn. Most of all, painting gave him a sense of peace and contentment from the outside world.

He had been painting ever since he was twelve years old, when things were looking bleak. He'd paint anything; anybody could name it and he'd spent hours perfecting it, making sure each stroke was perfect.

"Okay class," Mr Albert said, "you guys have a project due for me. You all are going to paint something or someone important to you. It can be anything-your dog, neighbor, friend, parents, a sport-anything at all. This project is to be done alone, and you're going to hand it up within about two months. Sound good everyone?"

No doubt, Paul enjoyed this class the most. He wasn't really fond with all the other subjects, but art class was undoubtedly the best in his eyes. Without even hesitating, he immediately thought of Reggie (how could he not?). He had never painted his brother before, but now...he was going to ensure that his painting of his brother was perfect. Not because he necessarily wanted a good grade, but because this was his brother that was still in a coma, and he'd feel content painting his brother. It would give him a sense of satisfaction.

Not paying attention to anything else, he picked up his paintbrush and brushed against the canvas. He was in deep thought until he saw a paintbrush on the floor beneath him.

He saw a girl reach down to grab the brush. "Sorry," she said. He recognized her instantly-it was that girl who had been talking to Ash this morning. "Oh hey, you're that guy that Ash was talking to. What was your name again?"

Why did everyone want to know his name? "Paul," he replied.

"Right," she said, "I'm Misty. I'm new here-I just came here yesterday."

He nodded, not really knowing what else to do or say, and just continued brushing. Oddly enough, Misty didn't move from where she was currently standing, and Paul had grown a bit uncomfortable. After a few seconds, she retreated back to her seat, leaving Paul alone much to his relief.

* * *

 _ **10:31 am**_

Leaf and Dawn were currently walking from their Physics class. Leaf had told Dawn about who she'd seen talking to Gary yesterday, and how she was instantly disgusted by Gary. Dawn rolled her eyes. Her friend was quick to make assumptions almost all the time, and most of the time, Leaf's assumptions were always wrong. "C'mon, Leaf. I mean, you don't know the guy that well. So you saw him talking to a girl after school. Big whoop," Dawn said.

Leaf pursed her lips. "I've never seen the girl in this school, which is saying something."

"You wanna know what I think?" Dawn questioned. "I think you're jealous," she said.

Leaf looked at her blunette friend unbelievably. What reason was there to be jealous? One thing was for sure; Leaf would never fall for Gary. "Please," she scoffed, crossing her arms. "I don't need a guy like him."

"Leaf, you shouldn't really judge someone with rumors. Most of the time they're fake and you and I know both know that." Dawn retorted. Leaf didn't reply. Dawn then looked at a class that was still in session in front of her. Her eyes widened slightly in disbelief as she saw a familiar head of purple hair. "No way," she said.

Leaf looked at her. "What?"

Dawn let her jaw drop slightly, not responding to Leaf. Was that...Paul in _art class?_ Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her though, and she could see a clear view of him sitting next to the open window. He seemed really focused, and was letting nothing distract him as he continued painting. Dawn had never witnessed Paul like this; he seemed to be actually enjoying it, and Dawn couldn't help but smile.

Leaf followed where Dawn was currently looking at. "Who are you staring at?"

Dawn stiffened a bit before she recomposed herself. "Uh, no one. It's just Paul," she said softly.

"Wait a minute, _he's_ Paul?" She looked at the guy who was currently painting. "Your tutor?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah."

"Huh," Leaf said, "never knew he was an artist," she mused.

"Me neither," Dawn said, laughing a bit. She didn't know there was this side to Paul; guess he was full of surprises.

* * *

 _ **12:37 pm**_

Drew was currently seated in his dramatics class, and was tapping against the desk rhythmically with his fingers. His last class had finished a half an hour early, and he didn't have much to do, so he had just decided to get seated in class alone. He didn't mind being alone sometimes. It was a good way for him to be alone with his thoughts.

His eyes suddenly averted to the door being opened, and he was pleasantly surprised when he saw May open the door. He nearly forgot that she was in this class. May closed the door behind her, and stopped herself short when she saw Drew. She stood there awkwardly, not moving.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly.

Forcing herself to take a seat, she replied, "Hey. Why are you here so early?" she asked.

The chartreuse headed male shrugged. "I didn't have anything else to do. What about you, April?"

" _May_ ," she sneered.

His lips curved into a small smile. He didn't know why he liked seeing her getting riled up so much. "You didn't answer my question."

She looked at him, not amused. "Keep getting my name wrong and I won't."

Drew nodded, still amused. "So how was your weekend? I heard you got Paul fired from his job," he said.

May gaped at him. "How do _you_ know that?"

He replied, "Paul's my friend."

"Oh," May nodded in understanding. "I've been meaning to apologize to him. He lost his job because of me, I feel really guilty."

"Don't worry about it," Drew waved her off with a hand. "Paul got a new job. He's starting this Saturday."

"That doesn't mean I still don't want to apologize," May countered.

Drew chuckled. "Wow, so you _do_ have feelings." May gave him a death glare. "I'm only kidding, March."

May just decided to ignore him as more students started to pile in the classroom. Leaf and Dawn weren't in drama class; they both weren't really suited for this type of class. They both preferred something like fashion over drama class. But May enjoyed this class, despite having to tolerate cabbage head here, because it allowed her to free her mind, and this class gave her a chance to actually be expressive as possible.

Eventually, Ms Cindy, the drama teacher entered. "Good afternoon class," she said. Some students responded back while she sat down on the chair placed behind her desk. She sighed before continuing, "Today, we're going to be getting in pairs to prepare a drama that will be performed in front of the class next week. Before you guys groan and whine, let me tell you that this exercise is actually very fun."

A boy raised his hand. "Yes, Evan?"

"Can we choose our partner?" he asked.

She smiled and rose from her seat to walk around the classroom. "No, I will choose the partners for you guys. I will also assign the pairs the type of drama they have to perform." She saw a girl raise her hand.

"Can we reenact actual scenes from movies or books, or maybe change the genre and acting out a scene differently?" Caroline, a red head, asked.

Ms Cindy raised her eyebrows. "Can you elaborate on that?" she asked, not understanding what the student meant.

"I mean, let's say, we reenact _Titanic_ but in a more comedic way, like altering the genre. If you gave me and my partner comedy, then can we do that?" she asked.

Ms. Cindy grinned, delighted with Caroline's suggestion. "That's a great idea. What do you think, guys?" she looked towards the students, to see most of them nodding agreement. "Great! Okay, let's start off by pairing up you guys," she said going to her desk and picking up a piece of paper in her hand.

"Lindsay Dawson and Becca Stewart. You two will be demonstrating a classical tragedy."

"Cole Nicolson and Tasha Sandrews. Sentimental Comedy."

"Jake Winters and Blake Anderson. Melodrama."

"Drew Hayden and May Maple. Prop comedy."

May's eyes widened. _Oh god no._ Her partner was Drew? She looked over to where Drew was, where he had caught her gaze, and simply smirked towards her direction. The brunette looked away from him and groaned to herself. Of all people, she had to get paired up with a cabbage head like him? She grumbled to herself incoherently while Ms. Cindy continued to pair up students.

"...And that's all the pairs. Remember guys, be creative and if you want to take up on Caroline's suggestion, be my guest. But you won't be penalized if you don't. This is for a grade and it'll allow you guys to get to know each other. Most of all, don't forget to have fun."

Drew looked towards May, who was staring ahead at Ms. Cindy in disbelief. Drew probably knew that May wanted to switch partners, but he knew Ms. Cindy would refuse to do so. It all seemed to be working in Drew's favor, and this was the perfect opportunity to get to know May a little better.

* * *

 _ **Thursday; September 4th; 1:30 pm.**_

Dawn looked at her Math grade that she had received. She smiled. She had done it. Grinning to herself silly, she thought of nothing when she walked into the library where he'd usually be. She skipped past Gretchen and walked to the end of the library, and she noticed him taking out a book from one of the bookshelves.

"Paul," she whispered loud enough to hear him. The library was pretty full today so the blunette didn't want to yell despite her excitement.

He recognized the voice, and turned around. But he didn't respond, as if he was waiting for her to continue.

"You'll never believe it," she said, grinning excitedly. She then held up her test paper she had just received and pointed to the grade, proudly. "I finally did good on a Math test, I'm really happy, even if it's a B," she said.

He put his hands in his pockets. He could tell that she was indeed proud. "Good. Now maybe next time you could aim for a higher grade," he said.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah! Of course, I'm going to need better grades," she said. Her eyes suddenly grew soft. "Thanks...for you know, pushing me and all."

Was she referring to 'pushing' as in studying for the test or for pushing her out of the way that night? Regardless, he said, "No problem." Then he took his book and retreated back to his seat. Dawn stood there awkwardly before she walked towards where Paul was currently sitting.

"So, when's our next tutoring session?" she asked.

He looked at her. "Let's resume on Monday. We've been having the tutoring sessions every day for this week anyway."

She nodded. "Okay," she said, grabbing a strand of her hair and placing it behind her hair. Then she noticed the book in his hand. "No way, I love that book," she said.

He was unfazed. "Good for you, I'd like to read it alone," he said, burying his head in the said book. Dawn sighed. There was absolutely no way that Paul wouldn't say something cold or rude to her without a day passing.

Despite that, she smiled to herself and sat in front of him, while he was seated at the the other end of the table. He could feel her presence. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting," she replied.

"Go away."

"I saw you in art class the other day," she suddenly said, and saw Paul widen his eyes. He looked at her with an unreadable expression. "I didn't know you take art, that's really cool."

Paul's expression changed, but very slightly before he stared at her unbelievably. "You spied on me."

Dawn couldn't avert from her gaze, and she suddenly seemed small. "Uh, n-no, I saw you and well you looked like you were really enjoying the class," she said, her voice small. He didn't respond. Was saying something about art that much of a problem? Dawn had been curious and fascinated ever since she found out that he took something as spontaneous as art, so she couldn't help herself. "It'd be cool to see one of your paintings," she said.

He looked away for a second or two, not responding again. He didn't know why, but he found himself angry again. Every time someone made conversation to him, or even told him that they'd catch up with him, he found himself annoyed. He liked being a loner...and for the whole day, people had been trying to be friendly with him. He didn't want to let people in.

"Go away," he said not looking at her, and Dawn noticed him curve his fingers into a fist.

"But-"

"Just. Leave."

Dawn didn't move yet, but she was surprised to see a tear falling from her cheek. She didn't know why that affected her; it shouldn't have but it did anyway. Slowly, she got up, and sniffled a bit before she walked away from Paul and out of the library. He looked back to see where Dawn had been sitting before; it was empty. But for the first time, he didn't feel relieved now that she left. Instead, he felt a sort of agony building up in his heart. He didn't seem angry at Dawn anymore, but he was sure that he was angry at himself for lashing out on her like that.

* * *

 _ **Another update for you lovelies out there! I'm beginning to love writing this story so much, no jokes, this story is always on my mind.**_

 _ **Holy macaroni, this was over five thousand words! :') this just shows how much I love writing this story. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did! The next chapter is going to be released sometime next week if all goes well!**_

 _ **Oh, and I'm going to be including pokeshipping in this story. Sure, I may not necessarily like the shipping but that doesn't mean I can't challenge myself. And remember, if you don't agree with my opinion, then we can just talk it out if you want. Don't bash guys, it's not cool, there are lots of people out there with different opinions that won't agree with yours.**_

 _ **Anyways, thanks for reading! Like always, leave a review and I'll see you guys next week!**_


	10. Mall

_**Saturday; September 6th; 8:39 am.**_

Paul briefly looked at himself in the mirror and just brushed a few times over his purple locks. Shrugging to himself, he walked out of his room and into the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the air after a short while, and he quickly buttered his toasts while he was waiting for the coffee to boil.

After his breakfast, he glanced at the clock. 8:47am.

Today was his first day working at the mall, and he couldn't afford to be late. The plum-haired male wasted no time to leave and hurriedly approached his vehicle. When he got the car door open, he noticed Drew parking the familiar vehicle across the street.

Drew waved from across the street, but all Paul did was stand awkwardly. "Hey man," he said once he had crossed the street and had approached him.

"...What are you doing?" he asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

Drew let a sporty grin appear on his features. "I'm going to have to show you the ropes at your new job. So I figured it'd make sense if we go to the mall together. Plus," he added, "carpooling is good for the environment."

Paul had a dry look on his face. "Said the person that refuses to rinse off a plate," he said. Drew grinned knowingly. The only reason Paul happened to know that Drew was messy was because he had been over to Drew's place one day to talk to him about a project, and he remembered seeing the pile of filth it was covered in. He could even remember the foul scent. It had disgusted Paul.

"Whatever. Hop in man, we don't have all day," he said gesturing to his vehicle. Paul sighed before climbing in the vehicle and soon enough the car was on the road.

* * *

May was awake by 9am and was currently doing folding laundry while Dawn was busy making breakfast. Norman and Caroline were outside gardening and as far as May knew, Max was probably still asleep.

While Dawn was pouring the pancake batter, her mind was battling with thoughts. She still hadn't been able to visit her mother, and so much had happened in this past week or so. She felt uncomfortable and unsatisfied not seeing her mother; she felt uneasy to not talk to her.

To be honest, the blunette was a bit stressed. She didn't know how much longer she was going to be staying here. Granted, she knew she'd always be welcomed here and she was well aware that May's parents wouldn't kick her out, but this wasn't her home. Dawn only had a less than a year before she would graduate, which means eventually, she'd have to move out anyway.

She just hoped her mother would be with her during that time.

May felt a burning aroma fill the air and looked in the kitchen from the hallway. "Dawn!" she exclaimed, snapping Dawn out of her thoughts. "The pancakes!"

Dawn flinched and quickly turned off the stove before she looked at the burnt pancake disapprovingly. "Shit," she remarked before she scraped the said pancake off the frying pan and disposed of it.

"Are you okay?" May asked, walking in the kitchen.

Dawn merely nodded before pouring another set of batter onto the frying pan. "I'm fine," she said, not taking her eyes off the pan.

"What happened?" The brunette asked.

"Nothing," Dawn shook her head. "I just got lost into my thoughts," she said, laughing bitterly.

"What kind of thoughts?"

Dawn sighed. She lowered the flames before speaking. "I was thinking about my mom and my future," she admitted. That caught May's attention. Dawn flipped the pancake and then continued. "How long is this going to continue, May? How long am I going to stay here? We all know I can't stay here forever."

May gave her a look of shock. Was she out of her mind? "Are you delusional? Dawn, we never want you to leave, you can live here with me for as long as you want."

The blunette placed the pancake on a silver platter. She sighed and looked at her best friend. "May, you know I can't do that. Look, we have until next year 'till we graduate, then what? I'm going to have to move out if I want to go to college," she said.

"Dawn, the only reason you're staying here is because your mom's in the hospital," she reminded her. "Are you implying that she won't get better?" she asked bluntly, and instantly regretted it, seeing the flash of pain in her eyes. She didn't mean for her words to be harsh.

Dawn blinked. She had only visited her mother a couple of times; she couldn't really pinpoint whether her mother was recovering or not. But she thought about what May uttered. She hadn't realized she was being pessimistic, which was really rare for her. "I...I don't know," she mumbled, not knowing what to say. "Of course I want for her to get better, she's my mom. But at the rate at which she's recovering..." she trailed off, and didn't seem to find the words to continue.

May looked at her with sympathy, and then she suddenly pressed her lips in a thin line. She figured that all her blunette friend needed was reassurance. "Let's go the hospital," she said.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at the suggestion made. "What? Right now?"

May shrugged. "Why not? You haven't seen your mom since a while, plus you barely have time during the week. It's Saturday, we have time."

Dawn nodded; she did have a point. The weekends did give her a breather from school, which would allow her to see her mother more often. Dawn didn't hesitate to agree. "Okay," she said, with a small smile.

* * *

 _ **9:16am. Lumoise Hospital.**_

 _Ding!_

The two girls exited the elevator after hearing the familar sound. The blunette looked for her mother's ICU room number and after spotting it, she walked towards it, about to open the door when a nurse stopped her.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?"

Both girls looked at the nurse, and Dawn frowned looking at the new nurse. She assumed her friend, Elisa only worked through nightshifts. "My mom's in there, my name is Dawn Berlitz and I came to see how my mom's doing." Dawn spoke.

The nurse simply nodded. "What's the patient's name again?"

"Johanna Berlitz," Dawn replied. "She's been in a coma for over two to three weeks now. I'd really appreciate an update on how she's doing and I want to go in and see her as well," she added.

"Of course, not a problem," she said, and then directed the two girls in the ICU room. While the nurse was busy searching a bit roughly through some drawers, May and Dawn were currently looking at the pale body that belonged to Johanna, as if she was chained to the bed.

May cringed. The last time she had seen Dawn's mother was years ago. To be honest, May and her had gotten along pretty well and the brunette considered Johanna to be her second mother. Caroline and Norman were also quite friendly towards her. And now as May looked at the depriving state Johanna was in right now, made her eyes a bit watery.

Even though Johanna wasn't her mother, May's heart was aching. She would never understand what Dawn was going through every day. She had no idea how her best friend was coping with the fear of losing her mother every day. It was even worse especially with the fact that Dawn was basically alone now.

May watched as Dawn gently sat down on the bed beside her mother. She just stared as Dawn started to talk to her mom, as if she could listen to her words. "Hey mom. It's been a while, I know. I'm sorry but I just never got the time to come visit you, especially with school and whatnot."

May looked at the scene intentingly. She was amazed to know that Dawn was talking to her perfectly normally, and was basically ignoring the fact that her mother was in a coma. "A lot happened. I moved to May's place recently, which is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me," Dawn grinned, looking at May and then looked back at her mother. "I'll be living with May until you recover."

"And well since I'm in my last year of high school, homework and tests are piled up on me already," Dawn rolled her eyes. A thought then ran across her mind about a certain someone. "Speaking of tests, I've been having a rough time with my Math tutor. He's confusing, a bit aggravating and insults me sometimes..." she trailed off, sighing. She shook her thoughts away, not wanting to recall his harsh words he had uttered the other day. "Anyways, the point is that I'm here now," she said, smiling weakly at her mother.

Sbe was anticipating the day her mother's eyes opened, and she'd see her radiant smile.

May looked away, wiping her tears. But then she looked back at Dawn, who had tears in her eyes as well. The brunette walked over and hugged Dawn tightly from behind. "I'm sorry you have to go through this, Dawn," May said sadly. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll always be here for you, okay?"

Dawn smiled, looking at May behind her and then looked at her mother. "See, mom? May's the best," she said and May laughed in response before she released Dawn.

Dawn stood up, not looking away from her mother. "Let's go talk to the nurse," she suggested to May, who simply nodded before the two walked outside the ICU room.

* * *

 _ **9:18am. City Mall.**_

Drew struggled for a couple of minutes to find a suitable parking space; the mall was pretty busy during the weekends. Luckily, Paul was patient and didn't complain or grew irritable and the chartreuse headed male was thankful for that.

The two males entered, and the cool air conditionor immediately hit their skin, and Drew sighed with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Paul realized instantly that working in the mall was going to be slightly different than working as a waiter at a restaurant. However, that thought didn't really bother him.

Paul noticed Drew looking out for someone. "Where is he...oh, there he is," he said, grinning. Paul scrunched his eyebrows in confusion but looked where Drew was currently looking at, and seemed a bit curious to see an older looking man walking to their direction.

The older looking man resembled Drew somewhat; the difference was that this man had a darker green color of hair, and he had deep blue-grey eyes. He was about three inches taller than Drew as well. "Hey Drew," he looked at him, then looked at Paul, who had a nonchalant expression on his face. "Is this your friend who desperately needed a job?" he grinned jokingly.

Paul wasn't amused by the comment. Was he actually thinking needing money was a laughing matter? "I'm guessing you're the uncle," he said lamely, looking at his fancy business suit.

He chuckled. "Yes. You can call me Harold."

Paul winced. He was going to mention that he'd rather not, but Drew cut in. "So, anyways, Paul's here for his first day on the job..." he trailed off. "What job openings are available?"

"Well," Harold said, "we do need some food court employees-"

"I'm don't really work well in the food industry," Paul cut in, recalling memories of his last job. Drew and Harold stared at Paul for a while until he continued, "I can take any other job." He said.

Harold nodded. "Not a problem. There's also an opening for a movie ticket salesperson." He suggested.

"Hm," was his response. Did he mean those people who sat down behind a little glass booth and sold movie tickets? The position itself didn't sound very tempting, but at the same time, it didn't sound very difficult to do. "What am I going to be responsible for?"

He was surprised to hear Drew reply, "Oh, just issue movie tickets, accept payments, make reservations and help customers out in general," he said. "Trust me Paul, it's an easy enough job, and the best part is," he added softly, "you won't be making convo with a lot of people, you just issue the tickets, get the payment and you're golden!"

"What's my wage? I'm only going to be working on the weekends. I have another job during the week." Paul explained, looking towards Harold.

"Your hours are going to be from 9 am to 1 pm, then from 5 pm to 9 pm. You'll be paid minimum wage, which is eight dollars an hour."

Not too shabby. If he had done his calculations correct (of course he had, he _is_ a Math whiz), he'd make more than a hundred dollars every weekend, plus with the job he had at school was certainly not too bad of an income to have a decent meal and pay the month's rent. His eyes then darted towards Harold, who seemed to be expecting a reply.

"...Okay. I'll take it," he said, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

* * *

 _ **9:43am.**_

Currently, Dawn and May were in May's vehicle. Songs were being heard through the radio while May was driving.

The nurse had told Dawn that her mother hadn't been responding to any of the tests performed. The nurse had also reminded her that her brain had been severely damaged, and it would probably take a long while for her mother to respond. Disappointed as Dawn was, the nurse simply told her to be patient if she wanted a miracle to happen.

Seeing how disappointed Dawn was, May offered for them to go the mall to have some girl time of their own. May figured it would allow Dawn to forget about her mom for a while and let loose. And of course, they wouldn't go to the mall without their other friend, Leaf.

Which was why they were currently driving to Leaf's place to pick her up.

May's cell blasted from her jeans pocket, and the brunette looked at Dawn briefly before looking towards the road again. "Dawn, can you get that? And put it on speaker please," she said.

Dawn nodded before reaching into her pocket, struggling a bit before she got the device in her palm. It was Max calling. She answered before placing it on speaker mode. "Hello?"

"Hey Dawn, where's May?" Max asked.

"What do you want? I'm driving." May rolled her eyes.

"You're still driving to the hospital?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, dodo brain. Dawn, Leaf and I are going to the mall. We won't be back 'till a few hours later," May said.

"Oh okay," he said. "Wait...that means I have the house to myself! Hell yeah!" he cheered from across the phone. Dawn laughed.

May rolled her eyes. "Congratulations," she said, her tone full of sarcasm. "Don't try to cook, you'll burn the house down. There's leftovers from last night."

"That was _one_ time woman!" he exclaimed. Both girls laughed and could hear Max groaned. "Whatever. I'm going to study for a test I have next week."

May smirked. "Okay later nerdy," she said and Max had ended the call.

Dawn looked at May in disbelief. She had a satisfied smile etched on her features. "Why do you tease your brother all the time?"

May shrugged. "It's fun. It's something siblings do," she said as the car neared Leaf's driveway. Dawn cringed a bit when May repeatedly honked the car horn, probably disrupting the whole neighborhood. May rolled down the glass window. "LEAF!" she yelled. "Get your ass down, or we're leaving without you!"

Dawn never realized what a crazy friend she had. Laughing to herself, she then noticed Leaf exiting the door of her house, and she walked irritably and sat down in the backseat of the car. "Arceus, May what's wrong with you? Have you never heard of a cell phone?"

May started the car again and giggled when she put it in drive. "Oh come on, Leaf, that was pretty fun. Plus I saved my cell phone battery."

Dawn laughed while Leaf rolled her eyes when the car sped off again.

* * *

 _ **10:07am. City Mall.**_

Drew had finished showing Paul his workstation (which was basically a glass booth) and was currently walking around, trying to avoid bumping into people. He noticed the mall was pretty busy today; it was swarmed with people from more than half the city, it seemed.

To sum it up, Drew was rich. His mother owned one of the most successful clothing lines in Lumoise. Therefore, he didn't need to work to have an extra income within the household. But Drew was someone who wasn't egoistical about his family's wealth; he was someone who wanted to be independent and do something for himself. Hence, he'd worked in his uncle's mall for practically the whole summer, just to keep himself busy.

Drew's childhood years hadn't been the best. When he was six years old, his parents were already divorced and he was living with his single mom. He'd always question the reason for their divorce, but his mom had always evaded the topic somehow...until one day, at the age of fourteen, he saw his father (he recognized him from old photographs) with another woman and his kid. Sure, he didn't know his father, but Drew knew that this man was never going to be forgiven for putting his mother through all of these years of suffering and pain.

Now his mother had a boyfriend. She'd been seeing him since the past three months or so, but Drew had never met him. All he was familiar with was his name: Thomas. She'd talk about him countless times to give Drew an idea that he truly makes her happy; he was nothing like his father. He hoped he could meet Thomas one day.

The chartreuse headed male snapped out of his thoughts when he saw his other two friends approaching him. He smirked. "Ashy boy and Gare bear." He teased.

Gary, Drew and Ash knew each other since childhood. Gary was originally from the Kanto region but his folks had moved to Kalos since he was a toddler. He was a ladies charmer and was praised for his toned muscles and good looks. His spiky brown hair never seemed to be combed, and he stood tall at almost six feet, which was only an inch taller than Drew was.

Ash, on the other hand, grew up here in Kalos. He was a pretty straightforward and laid back kind of guy that played basketball during his free time. He had a big heart for food, and would always be found eating. His black raven hair and brown eyes complimented his good looks as well, and he stood a little shorter than Drew.

Gary groaned, and Ash cringed while face-palming. "Shut it, you little fucker," Gary said, and Drew's response was a laugh. "You working today?" the spiky haired male asked.

Drew shook his head. "Nah. It was only a summer job. But I mean, I could still work on weekends." He shrugged.

"So why aren't you working today?" Ash asked lamely.

Drew shrugged in response, earning a chuckle from the two guys. "Oh, by the way my sister came back," Gary mentioned and added, "since about a week ago."

"Nice." Ash remarked. "What's up with her now?"

Gary smirked. "Why are you so curious about my older sister, Ashy boy?" Ash rolled his eyes, but then Gary continued. "She's fine, she just finished college and now she's trying to look for a job."

"I can't wait 'till high school's over, I'm tired of this hellhole." Drew commented, earning two nods of agreement from Ash and Gary. "College should be dope though, right?"

Gary shook his head. "Not always. It can be fun yeah, but it's a lot of work," Gary said. He remembered his sister, Daisy telling him of all the hard work college required and the amount of time and dedication she had put to get her degree. "I really should start applying to colleges." Gary added.

"Same here," Drew said, nodding. His eyes then caught a familiar brunette with her other two friends currently walking through the swarm of people. His eyes widened, but a small smile appeared on his face.

Ash looked at Drew, raising his eyebrow. "Okay why the hell are you smiling like that?" he asked to which Drew deadpanned and smacked him lightly at the back of his head. "Was that really necessary?!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot where Drew had hit him.

Drew rolled his eyes, and ignored him and Gary as he focused his attention on May. She was wearing a red top with some blue jeans shorts. Her short hair was let loose and was covered with a headband. It was something so average, but yet, it still managed to catch his attention.

If it wasn't obvious enough already, Drew had a huge crush on May-from the moment he met her. He didn't know what it was about her, but he couldn't get her out of her head. He was attracted to her fiery but sometimes shy personality. He knew he was whipped from the very beginning.

"Oh, that's why Drew's staring there," Gary said looking to where the three females were, and then looked back at Drew. "You're really whipped, man." Gary laughed.

Drew groaned. "I know. But that's not even the bad part. I'm pretty sure she hates me," he said.

"Well," Ash said, "maybe if you weren't an egoistical dick all the time to her, then maybe she'd give you the time of the day," Ash said smartly.

Drew rolled his eyes, and then flicked his hair proudly. "I don't understand how she can resist all _this_ ," he motioned his hands over to himself.

"You just proved my point," Ash said, rolling his eyes.

Ash's response was Drew's middle finger. "Whatever." Drew commented. "Let's go talk to them," he suggested.

Ash shook his head. "You guys go ahead, I'm here to shop for my mom again. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Gary and Drew snorted at the idea of Ash shopping for his mom. Ash rolled his eyes at his friends' immaturity before he walked into one of the stores.

* * *

 _ **10:25am. City Mall.**_

The three females were currently wondering where to look first. They weren't planning on actually purchasing anything, but just window shop and maybe take a few selfies before they'd head to the food court. It was Leaf then, who noticed Gary and Drew walking towards them, and she widened her eyes in surprise.

"Hey ladies." Gary's voice was heard, and Dawn and May averted their attention towards them. May stared at Drew in slight surprise, who had a small smirk on his face.

Dawn smiled. "Hey guys! What's up?"

Gary shook his head. "Not much. We just came to the mall to hang out for a few."

"Cool, same here," was Dawn's reply.

An awkward silence followed, and May and Leaf were trying to look anywhere but in their direction. Gary coughed, and Drew rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. A thought then appeared in Drew's head. "Hey April," he said, looking towards the darker brunette. "We have a project due, remember?"

"I didn't forget," she said, or more mumbled in annoyance.

"You do?" Dawn asked, looking at May.

May sighed, nodding. "Yeah we got paired up for a drama assignment."

Gary nodded. "Nice."

"Yup." Drew added. "When do you wanna work on it? How about tomorrow?" he asked, his eyes directed towards May.

Unconsciously, May's cheeks pinked, to which Drew noticed. "T-tomorrow?" she asked, her voice small. "As in Sunday?"

Drew chuckled. "Yes, as in Sunday."

"You okay, May?" Leaf asked, noticing her stutter.

The darker brunette nodded towards her cousin. "I'm fine," she said then looked towards Drew, biting her lip. "I guess we could start tomorrow."

"Okay," he nodded. "We'll start at noon. My place."

May's eyes widened. "No, we'll do it at my place," she argued.

Did May really think he was that big of a perv? Drew didn't intend for anything she didn't want to happen. All he wanted was a chance to know her better. "Okay, that's fine."

May nodded. "Okay," she said, then looked at her friends. "Come on guys, we need to shop." She gestured for the two of them to follow her. Dawn and Leaf just shrugged as they walked behind the brunette.

Gary's eyes lingered on Leaf for a little longer, until he noticed Leaf turn around. Leaf had caught his stare, but he didn't avert his gaze but in fact, let a smile show. Leaf just ignored him and walked forward with the girls again.

"Well," Drew said, placing a hand around Gary's shoulder. "Looks like I'm not the only one that's whipped."

* * *

 _ **10:31am.**_

Ash was surrounded by several tops, shoes, and jewelry. He looked randomly at a green top and cringed. He didn't understand why his mom insisted for him to shop for her; he didn't know anything particularly about girl shopping. He groaned, rubbing a finger gently on his forehead and exhaling.

"Need some help?"

He directed his eyes, and placed his hand to his side while widening his eyes in slight surprise. He smiled, recognizing the familiar female. "Misty? What are you doing here?"

The carrot top sheepishly smiled at the raven haired boy, as she held up a few shopping bags. "Shopping unfortunately," she said.

Ash raised an eyebrow curiously. "I thought all girls loved shopping."

Misty put her hand on her hip. "Are you stereotyping me?" Ash didn't reply. "I _despise_ shopping, especially clothes shopping. It's so tiring to choose clothes, then go in the changing rooms and try them on. Do you know how hot it is in there? Then, if you need a bigger size you need to walk back and take another top. Ugh, so exhausting."

Ash chuckled. "Then why are you shopping in the first place if you hate it that much?"

"Because my mom insisted I get new clothes, especially since I moved here recently."

"Ah." Ash nodded. "You like it here so far?"

"Well it's only been a week, but yeah, I guess. My parents and sisters moved here 'cause my mom has a new job here." Misty explained.

Ash nodded. "Cool." He then walked back to looking at the tops, inspecting them for some weird reason.

Misty laughed. Ash looked at her curiously. "What exactly are you looking for?"

Ash groaned. "I'm kind of here on a mission," he admitted. "My mom wants me to shop and get her some tops and jewelry. Though," he said, picking up a necklace, then placed it back on the counter, "I have no idea what to get her."

"Why don't I help you out?" Misty suggested.

Ash looked at her curiously. "You?" She nodded in response. "But you hate shopping."

Misty waved her hand in dismissal. "True, but I doubt anyone else would help you. No offense, but you have little to no fashion sense. Plus, I could choose something great for your mom."

Ash shrugged. He figured it was better than choosing something his mom didn't like. The last time he did that, he got an earful from his mom. And yet, she still sent him on shopping trips. "Okay."

Within the next half hour, Misty had picked a long flowing black dress with some matching sandals. She also had gotten some cosmetics and jewelry for his mom. Ash had to admit, for someone who hated shopping, she surely had good taste. Ash had given her his thanks, and while he stood in line to pay, Misty was staring at an orange top.

The price tag read $150. She widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't afford that, and no doubt would be angry at herself for spending over a hundred dollars just for a name brand top. She scoffed to herself and walked back to where Ash was.

"Done?" she asked.

Ash nodded. "Yep." He pointed to the shopping bags. "Thanks, Mist."

She smiled, putting a strand of her short orange hair behind her. "No problem."

Ash looked like he suddenly recalled something. "Oh, hold on. I forgot, I wanted cologne for myself," he said, handing her the bags.

She looked at the bags incredulously. "You want me to carry _your_ bags?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's just for a few minutes, Mist. I'll be right back," he said. Misty sighed as she reluctantly took the bags from him.

She sighed, tapping her foot impatiently and looked outside the store. She accidentally made eye contact with a plum haired male, who was standing behind a glass booth. Her lips parted in surprise. She instantly recognized him from art class, but she couldn't recall his name. He seemed to be wiping down the counter, and then looked up, but Misty looked away, afraid she'd been caught.

She had been _staring._ That was peculiar for her.

A shopping bag was suddenly placed in front of her green eyes, and she blinked, pushing her thoughts away. She saw Ash's grin. "What?"

"Open it."

Misty eyed Ash in curiosity but then shrugged as she reached in and was surprised to pull out the very same top she had been eyeing at the store. She looked at Ash in awe. "You...bought this for me?"

"I saw you looking at it. I figured you'd want it. Consider this as a thanks for helping me out."

Misty couldn't form a proper sentence, let alone _think._ She just kept looking at the top and Ash back and forth, not believing that Ash, a guy she had barely known for less than a week, would spend over a hundred dollars for a blouse. "Thank you, Ash."

Ash smiled, placing his hand in his pocket. "It was the least I could do." To his pleasant surprise, Misty reached out and hugged him. The gesture surprised him, but he quickly reciprocated.

They released, and Ash's cheeks were a bit pink. "Well, I better get going home now," Misty said.

"Wait." Ash called. Misty eyed him curiously. "I can't let you go without getting your number." Misty laughed.

* * *

 _ **11:29am.**_

The three girls had been looking around for nearly an hour, and even though they interestingly gawked at every cute item there was, they eventually got bored. "What do you guys wanna do now?" Leaf asked.

Dawn shrugged. May replied, "I don't know, I'm pretty tired of looking at stuff that we're not even going to buy."

"How about we watch a movie then?" Leaf suggested.

Dawn nodded excitedly. "Sure. What movie?"

"Oh, let's watch the emoji movie, it looks okay enough to be entertaining." May suggested.

Leaf nodded, while Dawn did the same. "Okay, I'm gonna get the tickets, you guys get the popcorn and drinks," Dawn said. The two girls gave her a few dollars to help pay for the tickets, before Dawn walked towards the glass booth.

The person had his head buried behind a book when Dawn had said, "Excuse me, I need three tickets to the emoji movie."

Paul stilled for a second, recognizing the voice. He reluctantly removed the book from his face, facing Dawn, who now had the eyes of dinner plates. Dawn hadn't seen Paul since Thursday and would never expect to see him here at the mall. She still remembered their last conversation, which had left a sour taste in her mouth. It was then that she noticed his work attire.

"You work here now?" Dawn asked, but her tone was somewhat bitter.

Paul handed her the tickets. "I started today."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the tickets," she said, sliding the dollars across the booth. Paul simply watched as Dawn stood there awkwardly before he saw two girls walk with several snacks towards Dawn.

"Hey, Dawn, did you get the tickets?" May asked, taking a handful of popcorn and eating it. Dawn nodded, and May looked towards the glass booth. "Paul?" she exclaimed, catching Paul's attention. He groaned in slight annoyance. "You work at the mall?"

Paul had a flat expression on his face. "Why, do you plan on getting me fired again?"

May's lips stretched into a thin line. "I'm sorry for getting you fired," she said, recalling the time when Dawn told her that Paul had saved her life. "I was just being stupid. You didn't deserve it, and it's my fault."

If anything, Paul was surprised. He didn't expect her to apologize. He wasn't sure what to say, so he nodded. "...It's fine."

Dawn smiled; she knew May was being genuine while she apologized. Dawn eyed Paul curiously. She'd never seen Paul apologize for...anything. Would he apologize for lashing out on her Thursday? She scoffed silently to herself. _Like that was going to happen._

"Yo, Paul!" The three girls looked behind to see Drew approaching the glass booth. Paul raised his eyebrow. "How's the job coming along?"

Paul shrugged. "Fine." To be honest, it was an easy enough job. There wasn't much required, all he had to do was sell movie tickets and accept payments. Sure, some customers were impatient, and some had insulted him because some tickets were sold out, but other than that, he pretty much had nothing to complain about.

"I totally forgot to mention it but," Drew said then added, "if there's anyone you should thank for this job, it's Dawn." He put an arm around her shoulders. Dawn's lips parted, but she kept a nonchalant expression. "She's the one that told me to help you out."

Dawn smiled weakly, as Paul's eyes were directed towards the floor of his booth. Dawn removed Drew's hand. "It's okay, Drew. I don't expect anything from him," she said, a bitter tone being heard again. Paul seemed unfazed, but for the first time, he felt like he deserved it for some reason. May and Leaf looked at her in slight awe before they laughed. "Let's go guys." Dawn left as May and Leaf followed her from behind.

"Woah," Drew said once they were out of earshot. "What was that about?"

He shrugged, lying through his teeth. "No idea."

* * *

 _ **1:03pm.**_

Paul glanced at the clock. Seeing that it was just past one, he decided to close up for his break. His next shift was at five; that would give him sufficient time to eat and relax for a bit.

He walked into the elevator and headed for the food court, which was a couple of floors above him. When the elevator doors opened, he walked out and tried to ignore the hustle and bustle of people. He noticed there was a line, and all the tables had been filled already.

He sighed in disapproval, and then he heard someone call his name. "Paul!" he looked towards the source of the voice. He recognized the raven haired male from school. Drew and Gary were seated beside Ash at a table.

He found himself reluctantly walking to their table (Where else would he go?). "Hey you're on break right? Why don't you join us for lunch?" Ash suggested.

He never really fit well into a group of people. He felt uncomfortable enough just standing there. "I'm not hungry." He lied.

Ash's eyebrows rose. Drew slapped Ash's arm. "Ash, don't you remember? Paul usually likes to be alone. He is a loner." Ash nodded in understanding.

"But seriously you can chill with us for a change. Sometimes it's good to try something new." Gary suggested.

Paul wasn't sure if he was ready for change. He was pretty sure he'd never want to change. "Maybe next time."

Gary frowned, but Drew nodded. "No problem man. If you need anything we're here."

Paul nodded, and luckily the line had shortened to his liking, so he quicklg took his spot in line. He had ordered a small burger and black coffee (the sour taste was pleasing to him) before he somehow managed to find an empty table. While he chewed on his burger, he noticed someone sit on the opposite seat in front of him.

It was Misty; Paul found himself slightly self conscious. "Hey. I don't think we've officially introduced ourselves. I'm Misty. You're Paul right?" she asked.

Feeling uncomfortable, he nodded and then sipped his black coffee in silence. Misty saw him rise from his seat. "I have to go." Paul quickly walked away, leaving the carrot top by herself.

* * *

 _ **3:20pm.**_

Dawn, Leaf and May exited the movie theatre with matching grins on their faces. "That movie was so awesome." Leaf cheered.

"I know right!" was Dawn's reply. "It was hilarious. It could have been better but still, it wasn't bad."

"Same." May added. "Do you guys wanna do anything else? I'm pretty tired."

Dawn shook her head. "No, I think we can go home now. I do have homework to do."

"Yeah," Leaf nodded. "I better get started on my bio paper."

The three girls started to walk towards the elevator when Dawn suddenly noticed her purse had been left back. "Hey guys, I'll catch up with you soon. I forgot my purse."

"Okay, we'll meet up with you soon." May replied, and Dawn smiled before walking back into the theatre, skipping past the empty glass booth, which was still closed.

She walked into one of the aisles and breathed a sigh of relief to see her purse still sitting there. She made a note to be more careful next time as she grabbed it. She turned around, and was genuinely shocked to see Paul inside. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed loudly, her beanie falling off.

Paul heard the scream and blinked at her. Dawn shifted her body uncomfortably. "What are you doing in here? You work here too?"

Paul looked at her. "I had nothing better to do, so I asked to clean up the movie theatre." He explained. Dawn only nodded, not saying anything else. It was then that Paul noticed her without her beanie. He noticed her bangs that were now exposed. He averted his eyes elsewhere once he realized he was staring.

Dawn clutched against her purse and took about three or four steps before she heard Paul's voice from behind her. "Dawn." She widened her eyes, and immediately stopped.

Paul was surprised she actually halted. He thought she'd continue walking. Dawn turned around and watched him in curiosity. "Yeah?"

His hands circled into a fist. His heart was slightly aching for some odd reason. When he looked at her, his mind instanty flashbacked to when he had abruptly yelled at her in the library Thursday evening. His onix eyes wavered a bit before he exhaled. "I..."

Dawn swore her heart fluttered. Her lips lifted into a light smile, and her blue eyes sparkled with a bit of excitement. Was he trying to apologize?

Though, he couldn't finish. What was he doing? His eyes changed expression suddenly and instead, he picked up her beanie which was still on the floor. "You forgot your beanie," he said lamely, handing it to her.

Dawn looked at her beanie, frowning in disappointment. She quickly secured the beanie over her head before walking out, leaving Paul alone.

She headed for the elevator. She smiled at Paul's small attempt of an apology. Though small, it was definitely there.

And with that, her smile only grew bigger. Today was a good day.

* * *

 _ **Hey guys! What do you think of this chapter? I'm kinda iffy about it, I need opinions :p**_

 _ **Holy shit, almost 7000 words. Gah. But hey a lot happened in this chapter, including a bit of pokeshipping. What'd you think of the pokeshipping scene? Oooh, but it also appears that Misty may have a thig for Paul. Plot twist!**_

 _ **Make sure to review telling me what you guys thought! It only takes a few minutes.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time!**_


	11. Guilt

_**Hey guys! This story was last updated in September...oops. Well, happy late new year I guess haha. But no seriously, I've been in college in Florida for about a month or so, and the work pressure has been on my shoulders lately. I haven't stopped thinking about this story though, and I think I said it before but it's never off my mind. I'm glad that the readers are enjoying it so far as well.**_

 _ **Anyways, I've been slowly trying to work on this chapter, mainly because I don't want to rush in a chapter and have my readers read a chapter of less quality than what I usually put out.**_

 _ **With that said, enjoy :D**_

* * *

 ** _Monday; September 12th; 7:55a.m._**

Leaf's dad pulled up near the school parking lot, and the brunette smiled before facing her dad. "Thanks, Dad," she said gratefully as she reached forward and kissed him on the cheek.

The older looking man shot her daughter a grin. "No problem, sweetie. After all I am nothing but a chauffeur, and nothing else," he said jokingly, but Leaf knew he was messing around and she rolled her eyes.

"You know the only reason you're driving me in this truck is because I don't have a car anymore," she reminded him. She recalled briefly when she had gotten a car for her birthday. Though it was an old model and maybe a bit run down, no doubt a car for her 16th birthday last year was a dream come true. It was disappointing that the car only ran for so long.

"Don't worry pumpkin, we'll get you a new car," he assured her.

Leaf smiled. "You don't have to. In fact, I'm really liking the whole 'father driving her daughter around' thing," she said, biting back a laugh. He chuckled in delight. "Plus, I don't need to pay for gas!"

Her dad grinned again, revealing his dimples. "You should probably go, you're gonna be late," he said, and Leaf nodded as she grabbed her backpack. She kissed her father on the cheek again before she hopped out of the truck.

While she proceeded to walk to the school building, she spotted a familiar spiky haired male talking to the very same girl she had seen sometime two weeks. The girl had long curly blonde luscious hair that cascaded down her back. Her eyes were properly smeared with a light gold eye shadow and her lips were adorned with light pink lipstick. Leaf briefly saw her laugh at something Gary said, and she rolled her eyes, a bit disgusted.

She continued walking, eventually leaving them behind. Whether or not they noticed her, she didn't know. She then approached her locker to take out some books. Her eyes darted towards May, who waved towards her, and she smiled back at her. "Hey, Leaf," May greeted.

"What's up?" Leaf asked as she closed her locker.

She shrugged. "Nothing much. This morning was pretty hectic. I forgot to do my chemistry homework, so I was trying to complete while eating breakfast, but my stupid idiot of a brother spilled milk all over my assignment as soon as I was done!"

Leaf couldn't help but to laugh. "I bet you got angry," she said.

"Not only did she get angry," the two girls heard Dawn say as she walked towards them, "But she also ended up almost beating the shit out of him. I mean, May it was an accident," the blunette pointed out.

"I don't care!" May retorted. "That assignment's worth about thirty percent of our grade, and now I don't even have an assignment to give up."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Hey, it's not Max's fault you were busy procrastinating watching youtube so much that you forgot to do your assignment."

"You _do_ procrastinate a lot, May." Leaf added.

May let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, great, even my friends are defending Max. If you guys love him so much, why don't you marry him?" The two girls looked at May with a peculiar face.

"Okay, I'm starting to think that this isn't about the assignment at all," Dawn said, raising an eyebrow. Leaf looked at her cousin expectedly, waiting for her to respond.

She looked like she was about to utter something, that is, before the bell rang for first period. She let out a shaky sigh. "Just forget it. I have a class. See you guys later," she said walking past them, leaving the two girls confused at her abrupt behaviour.

* * *

 _ **10:30am.**_

Dawn and Leaf walked out of their Physics class, completely brain fried. Their teacher had been lecturing non-stop for over an hour, and they felt overwhelmed with the new information that was feeded. It was a good thing that they had a small break before their next class. "I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to hate physics now," Leaf said.

Dawn stifled a small laugh. "I know right? I can't wait until winter break. Two weeks of absolute freedom from school and quality time with my best friends," she said, grinning as she put an arm around her.

"Oh, speaking of winter break," Leaf said excitedly, "Why don't you and May come over to my place during Christmas? It'd be a lot of fun. My parents are planning a huge dinner and lots of dessert."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but don't you think it's a bit early to start planning for Christmas? I'd think you'd be planning for Thanksgiving first."

Leaf nodded. "Yeah, my family likes to plan things a few months early. The Thanksgiving meal was planned since, like July," she said with a small smile.

"Cool, am I invited?" The two girls turned around to look at Gary, who was currently crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Leaf noticed the smallest of smirks playing on his lips. He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards them. "I love thanksgiving. I think it's a really great festivity. Plus, the turkey and ham never fails to amaze me...at least when my grandpa makes them. Heaven knows I can't cook a meal."

Leaf's eyes narrowed at him. "Okay, first of all, it's rude to eavesdrop on someone's conversation, and second, what on earth makes you think I'd invite you to Thanksgiving with my parents? I don't like you."

Gary feigned hurt and put a hand over his chest dramatically. "You wound me, Leafy. I thought we were friends," he said. "We have been lab partners for over a year, you know."

Leaf rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. You're the most aggravating person I know."

"Thank you," Gary grinned.

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Dawn couldn't help but to laugh at the two. They had no idea how adorable they were in her eyes. The blunette had been shipping the two ever since Gary was assigned to be her lab partner a year ago. She thought the two had undeniable chemistry; plus it was so obvious that Gary had deep feelings for Leaf, however she was just too blinded by the rumours that spread around in the school revolving Gary. She didn't know who started the rumours, but according to most students, Gary Oak was considered to be a player; someone who'd play girls and leave them.

Of course, Dawn was smart enough to know that any rumours that spread around in high school were most likely never true. In fact, Dawn and May repeatedly told Leaf about Gary's fake rumours, but she was just too obstinate to listen to anybody. Leaf had been convinced that Gary was a heart-breaker, and she hadn't changed her opinion since then. It was really disappointing.

"Can you just leave us alone? Go back to your bimbos!" Leaf exclaimed. Dawn widened her eyes a little.

Gary eyed her with a questioning look. "Bimbos?"

"Yeah," Leaf said, nodding. "That girl you've been with for the past two weeks; I know about it, Gary. She's just your toy of the month." Gary stared at the brunette with a look of disbelief. "I actually feel really bad for her, she doesn't know that you're gonna break her heart."

Gary blinked a few times out of confusion. "Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not a heart-breaker, and what girl are you even talking about?"

"Don't play innocent with me!" She retorted and then sighed before continuing, "Fine, I'll humour you. That girl with the blonde hair this morning; you were talking to her and making her laugh."

Gary bit his lip to prevent him from laughing out loud, but Leaf got annoyed when she noticed he got a humorous look in his eye. "You mean my older sister?" Dawn couldn't help but to cover her mouth with her palm and let out a small giggle.

Meanwhile, Leaf seemed speechless and her eyes had been widened, looking like dinner plates. That girl she had seen him with was his sister? "...Sister? You have a sister?"

This time, Gary let out a few loose chuckles. "Yeah. She just came back from college two weeks ago. So she's been driving me to school so we could spend more time together." Both Gary and Dawn couldn't control their laughter, and Leaf looked at both of them, completely red in embarrassment. Dawn thought it was rude to be laughing at her best friend, so she managed to stop after a while.

What the two didn't expect was Leaf to start running across the hallway. "Leaf! Come back!" Dawn yelled. _Great, she was really embarrased._

"Oh man," Gary said, "I didn't mean to embarrass her," he said, looking at Dawn.

Dawn sighed sadly. "Well, we _were_ laughing. Poor Leaf," she said. Then, she thought of something and then looked up at Gary. "You should go talk to her," she suggested. "Make her feel better."

Gary straightened his lips into a thin line. "That's not a bad idea."

* * *

Dawn walked down the hallway when she noticed Paul in art class again, and he seemed to be alone painting on his canvas. She didn't mean to spy on him but every time she noticed how much he was into painting, she couldn't help but a small smile show.

For the past two weeks, the two had been on good terms suprisingly. Ever since Paul had attempted to apologize (emphasis on 'attempted'), she and Paul hadn't been bickering at each other anymore. In fact, she'd like to say Paul was eventually starting to be slightly nice to her, and even toned down on the random insults he'd usually throw at her. Also, Dawn's Math grades was starting to slowly improve and she was extremely grateful so far.

Paul suddenly felt eyes on him, so he looked briefly outside the window, noticing the blunette, who now had a scarlet red blush apparent on her cheeks. The plum-haired male simply rolled his eyes and continued painting, not expecting the classroom door to open. "Sorry...I didn't mean to stare at you," he heard her say. "It's just...I find it really cool that you seem so fascinated about painting."

She didn't get anything but silence, but she didn't expect him to eventually respond. "Is that such a big surprise?"

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "No, like I said, it's really awesome!"

Paul's shoulders relaxed. "Thanks. I've been a painter since a while now."

Dawn nodded. "I bet. Anyways, out of curiosity, why are here by yourself?"

"I'm painting something for a project due tomorrow, and I want it to be perfect."

Dawn nodded in understanding. "Sweet. Can I see?" she asked enthusiastically, before she then bit her lip. She recalled the last time she asked that, Paul had practically barked at her. "Never mind," she said instead. "I shouldn't have asked. But, I'll see you at the library after school later," she said before she turned against her heel.

At that moment, Paul didn't know what he was doing, but he called after her. "Wait," he said, causing the blunette to stop in her tracks. He closed his eyes momentarily, wondering why his body compelled him to do that. It was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he didn't understand it. Dawn turned around when he opened his eyes. "...You can look at it if you want," he said so softly it almost sounded like a whisper, but Dawn had heard it loud and clearly.

She was trying to get over her shock. "What?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Don't make me change my mind here," he said.

Dawn internally squealed and walked over to where Paul was. Her smile had dropped when she locked her eyes on the canvas; her expression had changed completely to the point where she couldn't believe what she was looking at. It was a painting of an older looking version of Paul, but Dawn was surprised more at how clean and crisp his painting was. Everything was done so perfectly; his eyes, nose, lips and the rest of his features were completely human like.

She was amazed and speechless. "Wow," she muttered. "Paul...this is so beautiful," she looked at him in astonishment.

"I'm glad you think so. Now that you've seen my painting, you may leave now," Paul said.

"Wait!" Dawn retorted. "I'm serious, Paul, you're a really great artist. I'll be really surprised if you don't get a perfect score on this assignment," she said, looking at the canvas again. "Is your brother?"

Paul's heart clenched and he found himself not being able to answer. He still couldn't believe the fact that he had willingly showed her his painting of his brother. Painting his brother had been really important and confidential towards him. He was internally questioning himself and forgot about the question Dawn had brought up.

Dawn noticed his change of demeanour. "Is something wrong, Paul?"

He blinked. "I'm fine. I'm going to the water fountain to get a drink," he decided before Dawn nodded as he walked out of the classroom, leaving her by herself.

Dawn took notice of the painting again, and took the canvas in her hands, continuing to admire the hard work he had put into. Whoever this guy was obviously meant a lot to Paul. She found that piece of information interesting. It reminded her of how her mother was always the most important person in the world. Perhaps Paul and her did have something in common.

"Dawn?"

Without warning, she got startled and screamed a bit loudly before the canvas fell out of her hands and unfortunately falling flat onto the ground. Dawn gasped before she covered her palm in complete shock. Gary's eyes widened before he ran towards her as Dawn picked up the canvas again. The two looked at the painting and Dawn groaned when she noticed smudges. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry, Dawn," Gary said apologetically.

Dawn groaned. "Paul is going to kill me!" she exclaimed. "Do you know how hard he worked on this?!"

"It was an accident, Dawn. Besides, it was my fault. Maybe Paul will understand."

"What will I understand?" Dawn's eyes widened when she noticed Paul in the doorway.

Gary looked at his watch. "Oh, would you look at that? It appears I'm late for my history class. Later, guys!" Gary said as he speed-walked past Paul and outside the classroom, while Dawn was looking at him in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Paul crossed his arms. "Umm...funny story...I accidentally knocked down your painting..." Paul's eyes widened in anger. Dawn laughed awkwardly. "See funny, right?" She stopped laughing when she noticed Paul's deadpanned look towards her.

She suddenly felt small when he practically stormed over towards her, and violently snatched the painting from her hands. Reggie's face had been smudged a bit, and while he was angry, he placed the canvas back onto the stand and began to dwell in thought. "Paul, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to knock down your painting and ruin it. Gary startled me when I was holding and then I let it go by accident." Paul didn't respond, and Dawn knew that he was probably cursing her out in his head.

"I know! I'll just fix it!" She exclaimed before grabbing a brush but before the brush could touch the canvas, Paul grabbed her hand, stopping her. "What are you doing?"

"Leave the brush," he told her when he let go of her hand. Dawn did as she was told, and dropped the brush on the floor. "I meant on the table," he pointed out.

Dawn was surprised. Why wasn't he raging at her? "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Of course I am," he said. "I worked my ass off to paint a picture of my older brother for two weeks and right before the day it's due, it's smudged." Paul's words made Dawn feel really guilty. "So now, thanks to you, I have to work on it tonight." He took the painting in his hand and walked outside, leaving Dawn behind.

* * *

 _ **1:03pm**_

Dawn and May were currently walking over to their lunch table with trays of food in their hands. "So, Paul _didn't_ yell at you? Is today opposite day or something?"

"That's not the point, May. His painting was really important of him. He painted his older brother, and it was really perfect. I would get mad as well if someone destroyed a painting of my mom or something," Dawn said, playing with her mashed potatoes with her fork as the two girls sat down.

May waved her a hand of dismissal. "He'll be fine. All he needs to do is fix it."

Dawn stopped and looked at May, as if she had just got an idea. "Yeah, all he needs to do is fix it. And I'm going to help him do it."

"What?" the brunette asked her in disbelief.

"I'm gonna need a ride after school to Paul's place."

"You have got to be joking," May said as she bit into her cheeseburger. "I can't believe you wanna go to Paul's place just because you wrecked his painting a little."

"Hey guys," Gary approached Dawn and May and sat down across them. "Have you seen Leaf? I can't find her anywhere."

Both girls shook their head. "So you haven't found her since she ran off?" Dawn asked, to which Gary shook his head.

"No, thats why I came to you earlier to ask if you've seen her but then-"

Dawn cut him off, "Yeah and then you made me drop Paul's painting." Dawn rolled her eyes. "Not only that, you also ran off leaving me to take all the blame," she pointed accusingly and Gary soon apologized afterwards.

"I could text her and ask her where she is," May suggested. Gary nodded, and then May took out her phone as she began to type. "What happened, anyway? Why did she run off?"

Dawn replied, "Because Leaf got embarrassed when she realized that Gary's 'girlfriend' happened to be his older sister. We kinda laughed at her, but we didn't mean to. I thought she'd be fine later. I'm such a horrible friend."

"No you aren't," May countered, placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You're a best friend that anyone would be lucky to have." Dawn smiled towards the brunette, when May heard her phone vibrate. She looked at the message and then said, "Leaf's in the Biology Lab."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "What's she doing there?"

Dawn shrugged. "No idea but I'm thinking we need to talk to her," she said as she stood up. Both May and Gary stood up as well and followed Dawn.

* * *

The trio walked towards the Biology lab that was about a five minute walk from the cafeteria. Dawn knocked lightly on the closed door. "Leaf? Are you in there?" Dawn asked.

"We want to talk to you. It's no fun without you at lunch. Plus, I might need help with my biology homework, so..." May said before Dawn rolled her eyes and knocked her playfully on her shoulders. Gary chuckled a bit.

Shuffling was heard, followed by faint footsteps and soon enough the clicking of the door was heard until Leaf was face to face with her two best friends. Gary was leaning against the wall beside the doorway. "Hey guys," she said.

"Hey," Dawn said, smiling slightly. "You doing alright? What are you doing in here anyway? I don't think you've ever missed lunch with us. We're your best friends."

Leaf nodded. "I was trying to my biology homework, and...I don't know; I was just so embarrassed. Not because you guys were laughing at me but because I actually believed those rumours about Gary. I mean, I didn't think of the possibility that those rumours might not have even been true. Because of that, I've basically formed a wrong opinion about Gary all this time. That's why I'm embarrassed."

"That's nothing to be embarrassed about, Leafy," Leaf heard Gary say as she looked at the spiky-haired male at the doorway. Her eyes widened. "So you heard a couple of things about me and believed them. No big deal. Though...I am glad that I'm the center of attention in your eyes," he said, a full smirk on his lips.

Leaf huffed a bit, aggravated that her friends brought Gary to listen to their conversation. "Oh, please! Get real, Oak. You're not the center of attention and you never will be. In fact, I still don't like you, even if I do have a slight change of heart for you!" she exclaimed. Both May and Dawn were giving Leaf suggestive looks; they both knew that she was still in denial.

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Leaf nodded. "Yes," she said before grabbing her two best friends' arms. "Now if you excuse us, we have to be catching up on lunch. I've been missing out," she said before she walked out, the two girls following her from behind.

Gary was left alone with a smile on his lips, and with the memory of Leaf's words.

* * *

 _ **3:31pm.**_

Drew was inspecting the canvas in his hands. After a few minutes of internally debating, he came to a conclusion. "Come on man, it doesn't look _that_ bad," he said. "Maybe you can adjust it and it'll be fine."

Ash, who was currently beside Drew, nodded and added, "Yeah, you're smart, Paul. I'm sure you'll figure something out and try to fix it. Besides, I'm sure Dawn dropped the canvas by accident."

Paul stared at Ash in disbelief. Drew looked at Ash with an 'Are you kidding me' look. "What?" Ash asked once he got notice of everyone's deadpans. "What'd I do?" he asked, being completely oblivious.

"Dude, he literally explained that Dawn dropped the canvas by accident. Were you even listening?" Drew asked.

Ash rubbed the back of his head with his palm sheepishly. "Oh you did? Sorry, I was texting Misty and probably missed that part." To be honest, Paul didn't really have an interest in sharing his personal problems with Ash (he'd let it slide sometimes with Drew, since he was growing accustomed to him anyway). The only reason Ash was here was because Drew was talking to Paul, and Ash had barged into the conversation.

"Ah that Misty chick. So Ashy boy finally has a girlfriend," the chartreuse male teased.

Ash rolled his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend. We literally met two weeks ago. We're just friends."

"Keep telling yourself that buddy."

Paul was starting to get bored at the ridiculous romance talk. He stood there awkwardly watching the two imbeciles talk back and forth about the question of Ash develop feelings for...Misty? For some reason, that name sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't narrow who it was. "I'm going to the library. I have to tutor Dawn in a while," he decided before Ash and Drew nodded in understanding.

"Hey man do we have basketball practice today?" Ash asked as they began to walk in the interior of the hallway. The bell for last period had rung a few minutes ago.

Drew shook his head. "Nope. Anyways, on a completed unrelated note, what are you doing tonight?"

Ash was taken aback. "Dude I appreciate the offer, but I'm not gay."

Drew rolled his eyes. "I wasn't asking you out smartass. I wouldn't even ask you out if I _was_ gay." Ash was surely offended now. "Look, you know about my strong feelings for May."

Ash scoffed. "I think that's an understatement. You've practically talked about nothing but May since the past week. It's like she's a drug or something. And frankly, it's gotten annoying."

Drew rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. Look man, I really want May to like me back but I don't know, she just continues to play hard to get. Like, a couple of weeks ago, I went over to her place to work on a drama assignment and it was so awkward. Then on the actual day of the presentation, we didn't even talk before the presentation happened. Do you think she's ignoring me? What do you think is happening?"

Ash was surprised he was asking for potential relationship advice from him; a guy who had little to no experience with girls. "Well, I don't know, I really have no idea what goes in a girl's brain." Drew nodded in agreement, and Ash began to think for a while. "Oh, well have you ever considered that maybe she just doesn't like you?"

Drew looked at him in disbelief. "How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I never said it would!" Ash retorted.

"Okay well you're coming over to my place so we can make a plan. Or at least a strategy for May to stop ignoring me," Drew said.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Dude, you have got to work more on asking me out."

"For the last time, I'm not gay, you faggot!" Drew yelled as Ash let out a grin.

* * *

 _ **6:02p.m.**_

The vehicle pulled up to the familiar area that Dawn had accidentally wounded up on a couple weeks ago. The blunette noticed Paul's rugged looking vehicle next to Paul's house, which probably meant that Paul had reached home already after the brief tutoring lesson in the library earlier. Dawn looked over at her brunette friend. "Thanks May, I'll call you later," she said, turning around to reach for the car door.

"Are you _sure_ that you want to do this? Don't you think you'd be better off just leaving Paul alone?"

Dawn looked back at May and frowned. "Maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that I feel guilty, regardless of whether it was an accident or not. It's not about the painting, May. He worked really hard on this. The least I could is just help the guy for a few hours and go home."

May sighed, consumed by her thoughts for a while. Dawn always seemed to have a heart of gold, and was always so selfless. May noticed that her blunette friend would go out of her way to do anything to help someone, and this was one of those scenarios. Honestly, May felt like a lousy human being sitting next to her. "I guess you're right," she said, forcing out a smile.

Dawn grinned. "Okay, so I'll see you later," she said before opening the car door and closing it behind her. The two girls waved before Dawn saw the vehicle back up and was then on the road again.

Dawn let out a deep breath before looking at Paul's place of residence. Paul's house was small, a bit dilapidated, and she also noticed a bit of paint that was scraped off. It was a huge and remarkable difference from May's place; where it was big, spacious and fairly new. She walked towards the porch and then she knocked lightly on the dark brown door. She waiting for a few minutes and then decided to knock a bit louder again.

After a few seconds, the door creaked open, and Dawn smiled when Paul looked down at her in slight shock. He slightly groaned to himself. "What are _you_ doing here? If you want more tutoring, you're going to have to wait intil tomorrow," Paul said, about to close the door when Dawn placed her foot in between.

Paul looked at her expectedly. "This isn't about Math, Paul," she said. Paul raised an eyebrow. "Look, I feel guilty about dropping your painting and ruining it a little, which is why I'm here to help you out. I know you worked really hard on it, so I wouldn't want your hard work to go to waste because of me."

He crossed his arms and sighed. "What could you possibly do? You can't help me. I doubt that you would even know how to paint and how to fix the smudges. It doesn't make sense," he said.

Dawn nodded in agreement. "True, I may know little to nothing about painting, but that doesn't mean I don't have a creative side in me." Paul scoffed. "I can give you suggestions on how to fix it and make it better."

Paul looked at her in confusion. "I think you're just wasting your time. The most you'll do here is probably ruin it some more."

Dawn knew that arguing with Paul would be pointless, so she practically ignored him and walked past him and into the interior of his place. "Well, I'm not going to leave. Plus, even if you wanted me to leave, I don't have a ride and I doubt you'd give me a ride home," she said, smirking to herself.

Paul muttered something incoherently to himself before he closed the door in defeat. "Fine. Do what you want, but after this, you're leaving." He demanded.

She turned around to face him. "Oh, don't worry I don't have any intentions to stay here," she said before sitting on Paul's couch.

Paul rolled his eyes before he headed into the kitchen and let out a loud groan. His hands curled into fists, but for some reason, his heartbeat was accelerating. Shaking his thoughts away, he took out a glass and filled it with water before he re-entered the living room. He set the glass on the small coffee table beside Dawn, to which she looked at in slight shock before she began to gulp it down.

"Thanks," she said, before setting the empty glass on the coffee table again. Paul didn't say anything but nodded.

He then walked over to the other side of the room where his smudged up painting of Reggie was currently standing. He noticed the eyes, a bit of the nose, and the lips were smudged, so perhaps all he had to do was fill the paint in carefully.

"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt your creative process here," Paul heard Dawn say, "But if you think there's anything I could do to help, then please let me know,"

Paul sighed. "Look-" he stopped himself short before a thought came into his mind. "...Okay. I know how you can help me."

Dawn perked up before Paul turned around to face her. "Really?"

"To get my creative process to flow, I usually have a cup of coffee. Black coffee, to be specific. It helps me concentrate," he said.

Dawn nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay. No problem! I'll make you a cup of black coffee," she said before heading into the kitchen.

Paul slightly smirked to himself before he picked up the brush, and started to carefully adjust the painting.

* * *

By the time Dawn had made the coffee, Paul was done adjusting the eyes and forehead. He was pretty satisfied with how it came out the second time; in fact it may have even been better done the first time. Now he was currently doing Reggie's nose.

Dawn was currently cleaning up in the living room. Paul had mentioned that he was somewhat of a neat freak and said that his concentration increased more if he was surrounded by a clean environment. She was currently dusting up the couch. "Is this clean enough?" she asked aloud so Paul could hear her.

He turned around, not even looking at where she was pointing at, and said, "No. You missed a spot."

Dawn was confused. She had dusted all the couch cushions, vaccumed the floors, and even organized the books. "Where? It looks clean enough to me," she said before realizing Paul wasn't paying her any heed. She put her hands on her hips. "Okay this is ridiculous! From the moment I got here, I've been nothing but your personal assistant. I'm not even helping with your painting!" she exclaimed before walking towards Paul, whose back was facing her.

Paul turned around and couldn't help but to let out a small smirk. "Exactly."

Dawn's jaw dropped. "I can't believe this. You were taking advantage of me this entire time! Even after you made me feel guilty and me coming over here to help you!"

Paul rolled his eyes. "I needed silence. Plus, if you were to actually help me paint, you'd end up ruining it even more, which is why I had to make you do all of the other tasks."

Dawn was still furious; he still had no right to take advantage of her like that. She came over to Paul's place to make things right, but instead she ended up being an assistant. Without thinking, she instantly picked up a brush and painted roughly against Paul's face to convey how mad she was. Suddenly, Dawn's anger had descelerated and she was now more shocked at what she had done. A red line of paint was now seen on Paul's cheek. "I'm...I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking-"

Dawn was cut off when she yelped as she was pulled roughly closer to Paul. Dawn widened her eyes as she saw him grab a brush. With nowhere to escape, Paul brushed against Dawn's face roughly on both her cheeks; this time it was purple. Paul's hand on her waist loosened and Dawn pushed him back. Unfazed, Paul took a napkin and wiped the red line of paint off his cheek.

Dawn crossed her arms in annoyance. Paul noticed her pouting and rolled his eyes. "You were asking for it," he said before handing her a napkin.

She reluctantly took the napkin and wiped her face before she yelled, "I was mad, okay? I didn't deserve this, Paul! I was just trying to help because I felt bad about ruining your painting, and then you take advantage of me. How could you do this?!"

Paul seemed nonchalant, but then he sighed. "Fine. I realize it was wrong, but like I said, I needed silence and I didn't want the painting to get any more ruined."

Dawn was about to yell some more but then stopped herself short at Paul's words. "Wait...are you actually admitting you're wrong?"

"I don't speak French, Dawn," was Paul's sarcastic reply.

A light smile was formed on Dawn's lips. "Well...that was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

* * *

 _ **Alright, this chapter was mainly revolved around oldrivalshipping and ikarishipping. Question: Which pair do you think is likely to get together first?**_

 ** _Did you guys enjoy this chapter? I know I enjoyed writing it, thats for sure. Be sure to leave a review below telling me what you think. Also, I'm unsure of when the next update will be, considering I've got my hands tied with college work so far. Just be patient guys!_**

 ** _See you next time!_**


	12. Good and Bad

_**Monday; September 12th; 5:59 p.m.**_

Leaf was currently cleaning up and silently humming to herself, as the scent of freshly baked cupcakes filled the air, causing the brunette to sigh with satisfaction. She finished drying the last plate, and grabbed her oven mitts before she opened the oven door. Her right cheek was currently smeared with a bit of flour, and so was her apron. She grabbed a toothpick and inserted it in the center in one of the cupcakes. She smiled to see there were no streaks of batter, and with that, she carefully took out the tray of the delicious chocolate cupcakes she had made from scratch and placed it on the counter.

Now all she had to do was wait until the cupcakes cooled before she'd place frosting on top, and then she'd bite into the amazing gooey chocolatey goodness.

The doorbell rang, causing Leaf to slightly flinch; she looked over at the clock in the kitchen. It was just five minutes after six...was her dad home from work already? She quickly removed her oven mitts and was about to open the door before she smartly asked, "Who is it?" Of course, she didn't want any stranger barging into her home, and plus she was currently home alone.

"Its me, Gary." Leaf heard before her eyes widened in shock. What was he doing here? In all the time Gary and Leaf knew each other, Leaf never recalled him ever visiting her at her own place. In fact, she was surprised that he even knew where she lived. Slightly panicking, she quickly removed the apron and threw it somewhere and brushed her hair with her fingers a couple of times before she finally opened the door.

Gary smiled warmly at Leaf, who just had a bewildered expression on her face. "Hey," he said, before noticing a bit of white flour on her cheek. His lips lifted and formed into a small smirk. "Baking?"

Leaf blinked before realizing that she probably had flour on her cheek and stupidly rubbed the wrong cheek, causing her other cheek to get smudged with flour as well. "Is it gone?" she asked before Gary bit his lip to prevent him from laughing out loud. The ebony haired male shook his head completely in amusement.

The brunette just rolled her eyes, but was also a bit embarrassed now, as she walked inside and grabbed a tissue before wiping her face clean. She didn't realize Gary had entered. "Hey! I didn't tell you to come in," she said, looking at Gary with an unamused expression. "What even are you doing here? If you want me to embarrass myself even more then-"

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about, Leaf," Gary said, cutting her off.

Leaf scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I've already done it twice in one day," she said, walking towards the kitchen to look at her cupcakes.

Gary followed from behind. "So you're nervous around me, big deal," he said, before noticing the cupcakes and attempting to grab one before Leaf took the tray away.

"These aren't done yet, I still have to put frosting on top, and I'm not nervous around you," she said confidently, placing the tray down again, a bit further away from Gary.

But when Gary smirked again and crossed his arms knowingly, Leaf knew that her previous statement was a lie. Arceus, she hated the way he was looking at her right now, making her heart swell and butterflies soar through her stomach. It was as if he knew exactly how he made her feel, and he was basically trapping her. "I think otherwise."

Leaf couldn't respond and practically froze in place when Gary took small steps towards her. The brunette tried to look anywhere but him, and tried to ignore the fact that her heart was racing. Gary gently took her hand in his, causing Leaf to look up at him. "I feel the exact same way, Leaf. I get nervous around you too," he admitted, and the brunette seemed to be in a state of shock.

"...Really? _The_ Gary Oak gets nervous around me? You never seem to show it," she said.

"I'm pretty good at hiding it," he said with a small smile, causing the brunette to roll her eyes. The two looked at each other again, and they both seemed to be deep in thought. What was going on? Leaf noticed Gary's chest heave before he let out a small sigh. "Leaf...will you go out with me?"

Leaf couldn't help but to actually let out a small smile. All this time she had been denying her true feelings for Gary, but now...they were out in the open without even remotely saying anything. She let out a small breath. "Okay, I'll go out with you-"

"Leaf?" A familiar voice cut her off, and Gary turned around to see an older looking man. "What's going on? And who are you?"

The ebony haired male walked over and politely introduced himself. "I'm Gary. You must be Leaf's father. It's nice to meet you," he said before bringing out his hand. However, the man just stared at him sternly, and Gary lowered his hand.

Leaf fumbled with her words. "Uh, he was just...umm...here to talk to me about something," she said.

"Wait a minute," he said after rubbing his chin in thought and looking closer at the male, "aren't you Oak's grandson?"

Gary wasn't surprised by the question. "Yeah, I am. Gramps is a scientist, but how do you know him?"

"How do I know him?" Leaf's father chuckled in delight. "Just because he may be twenty years older than me doesn't mean I can't be friends with him. I deliver to him sometimes, he's one of my best customers. When I saw you just now, I could tell that you two were related."

Gary chuckled. "Well I guess we do somewhat look alike," he said.

"So, now that question is out of the way...what are you _really_ doing here? There was nothing frisky going on in the kitchen right?"

Leaf's cheeks burned. "Dad!" she yelled in embarrassment.

Gary chuckled. "No, sir, nothing of that sort was going on. But, since you are her father, I'll tell you that I asked your daughter out on a date," he said, looking at Leaf, and then at her father.

He slowly nodded. "I see. Well, I guess it's time to bring out my taser," he said before watching Gary's face pale. "Relax, kid!" he slapped his shoulder playfully. "I'm kidding," he said before Gary just let out a breath of relief. "I just want you to make a promise to me, but most of all, yourself," he said.

"What's that?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Don't hurt Leaf in _any_ way."

Gary smiled. How could he ever think of causing any sort of grief to the girl he had been crushing on for a while now? He looked at Leaf, and took a hold of her hand. "I promise," he said. Both Leaf and her father smiled in satisfaction. "Well, I'll be going now, I'll text you later, _Leafy_ , and we can plan our date," he said, winking as he walked towards the door.

"You keep calling me that and you can forget about the date!" she yelled, but a smile was etched onto her features.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Bye, everyone," he said, before Leaf closed the door and just smiled to herself as she leaned on the door.

Leaf's dad watched her in amusement. "So, my daughter is finally going out on her first date. I can only remember as if it was yesterday when you first started walking," he said, sighing. "Oh, how fast time flies!" He exclaimed.

Leaf smiled. "Thank you for being understanding, dad. I love you," she said, before hugging him. He returned the hug and kissed the top of her head before Leaf let go. "Oh! I've just _got_ to tell Dawn and May! They'll be so surprised!" she exclaimed before she started running up to her room.

"Whatever happened to father daughter time?!" Her dad yelled.

"Later!" she yelled back, causing him to roll his eyes.

o - o - o - o - o

"No way," May said unbelievably while on the phone with Leaf. Her blue eyes had been lit up after hearing from Leaf that Gary had asked her out. The brunette was happy for her cousin and was elated to see that she was no longer denying her strong feelings for Gary. "I'm so happy for you, Leaf!" she squealed.

Max groaned when he heard his older sister squeal as he entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk while attempting to tune her out. "Where's he taking you? Some place romantic?" Max heard her giggle and he pretended to gag.

Dawn entered the kitchen and raised an eyebrow when she saw May talking to someone. "Who are you on the phone with?" she asked before noticing Max slightly grimacing. "Hey, Max." He nodded to greet her and then walked out of the kitchen, clearly disgusted by 'girl talk'.

May placed the phone down. "It's Leaf. Gary asked her out!" She exclaimed excitdely and Dawn's jaw dropped. The two girls then squealed in excitement.

"Could you KEEP IT DOWN?! I'm trying to study!" Max exclaimed from upstairs. "I couldn't care less about whatever girly thing you talk about, just shut it!"

May gritted her teeth. "How about YOU SHUT IT and go someplace else to study?!" she yelled. "If we're bothering you so much, then maybe you should go to a library or something!"

Dawn blinked. "May! What are you doing?! Max is right, we should probably be quiet," she said.

"Yeah, May," Leaf added from across the phone. "It also seems like you guys fight even more than usual, and for petty reasons too."

May's palms formed into a fist. "We're fine," she assured Leaf, but she wasn't sure if she convinced herself. Dawn watched May let out a huge sigh. "I'll talk to you later, Leaf," she said before hanging up.

Dawn eyed her best friend with uncertainty. For the past few days, she had been noticing that Max and May's relationship was going from bad to worse. Sure, their arguments were normal but it was becoming ridiculous. She'd notice them fight for the most absurd reasons, and even though Dawn was an only child, that didn't mean that she didn't know that something was truly wrong. "May...if you want to tell me something, then you can. You can tell me anything, you know that," she said.

The brunette didn't respond until after a few seconds of hesitation. "You wouldn't understand, Dawn. No one will ever," she said.

"You can still talk to me about it, May. I'm your best friend. Leaf and I will always be there for you. You just have to tell us what's going on," she said, and May looked at Dawn expectedly. "Maybe I'll never know how you feel, but that doesn't mean that I won't listen."

May sighed, before she grabbed her friend's hand and escorted her to their room, closing the door behind her. Dawn sat down on her bed and May sat down beside her, placing her hands on her knees before speaking. "I don't remember the last time I ever got a gift from mom and dad," she started. Dawn raised an eyebrow, not sure where she was going with this. "I can't remember the last time when I wasn't compared to Max," she admitted with a sad sigh.

Dawn looked at May with a saddened look in her eye. "Are you jealous?"

May sighed and reluctantly said, "Maybe. I-I don't know. But I just feel as if Max is the better child. He's super smart, always gets gifts from dad, never has to do chores, and never gets in trouble. Meanwhile, I'm the older child and I barely get attention from my mom and dad. They always seem to notice Max."

"That's not true, May," Dawn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Your parents love you. They love you and Max equally."

May scoffed. "Please. When Max got first place in the science fair, mom took him to the Carnival the other day and got him a brand new TV. Meanwhile, when I get an A for a drawing I did in preschool, all I got a pat on the back."

"Come on, that's-"

"In fourth grade, Max became president of his class and the next day he gets a cell phone! Do you know when I got my first cell phone? Sixteen! But Max got his first phone when he was around nine!" May continued, cutting her blunette friend off. May sighed and stood up, pacing back and forth. "I know my parents love me, but...I'm sick of Max always being the center of attention. He makes me feel...insecure. He makes me feel worthless," she admitted.

Dawn spoke from behind May. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Have you ever tried to speak to your parents about this? Or even Max?"

May shook her head. "No. I don't want my parents or my brother finding out."

Dawn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What? Why not?" she was now standing in front of May. "If you don't tell them how you feel then nothing's going to change."

"Dawn, there _is_ no point of telling them how I feel. They won't understand. Max will always be their perfect child in their eyes. Ever since he was born, mom and dad have always been attached to him, and they slowly started to give him more attention than me. Seeing as that has been going on since years, I doubt anything's going to change," May explained.

"How do you know for sure? Have you ever tried?" Dawn asked.

May slowly shook her head. In reality, the brunette was scared of admitting how she felt around her parents. "No, I haven't. But please, Dawn, don't force me to share how I feel with my parents, because I really don't want to," she said, crossing her arms.

Dawn placed a hand on her hip. "So you're willing to just live with your insecurity for the rest of your life?" she asked as she watched May grab a brush and start to brush her hair.

"Of course not," she responded, looking at Dawn in the mirror, "When I move out for college, there will be no one to compare me to. That's when it ends," she said. Dawn wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"You _have_ to tell them, May-"

"I told you to not force me, Dawn," May interrupted, turning around. "Please. You can't fix everything, Dawn. Just stay out of it for now," she said, and that seemed to shut Dawn up. May watched Dawn's expression change, and she felt guilty for talking to her best friend this way, but she just wasn't ready to express how she felt about Max.

"I understand," Dawn said, forcing a smile. "No need to worry," she said stiffly. "I'll stay out of it," she said before watching May exiting the room.

o - o - o - o - o

 _ **Monday; September 19th; 1:30 p.m.**_

Paul has just received his painting of Reggie back, and was not surprised to receive a perfect score. He looked at the canvas with satisfaction and looked upon his painting of Reggie with pride and sentimental value. This project alone meant a lot to him, not just as a grade, but personally as well. It told him that he still had a strong connection with Reggie.

He looked at Reggie's smile and was reminded of how positive and enthusiastic he was.

 _~.~.~._

 _"Paul...we need to talk," Reggie said to fourteen year old Paul, who had just come home from his first week of his freshman year of high school. The younger plum haired male stared at his older brother with uncertainty before he placed his backpack down on the floor and approached him._

 _Reggie smiled at him and directed him over to the couch and they both sat down, as Paul waited for him to continue. Paul suspected it was something serious, but hopefully nothing too dire. Apparently, no words were needed as Reggie handed him an envelope. Paul glanced at it. "What's this?" he asked, before Reggie urged him to read it._

 _Doing as was told, he removed the paper from the envelope and began to read, even though he had a slight hunch of what this letter had detailed. And his suspisions had been confirmed. Paul hadn't even read halfway before he had already declared that he was proud of his brother for being accepted into college with a full scholarship. That, in itself, was a big accomplishment for the both of them. "Congrats, Reggie. You deserve it," Paul said, meaning every word. The two shared a hug and Paul held onto him, terrified yet excited for the future to come._

 _"Thank you," Reggie said but then his smile quickly turned into a frown. "But you know what this means."_

 _Paul was aware. Reggie would have to move into college all the way in the Hoenn region, which meant it was going to be extremely difficult for Paul to live alone, especially at such a young age. He wasn't sure he was ready for such a change, especially after living with Reggie all his life. Reggie placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "I know it'll be tough, but you can do it. I will help you, but you'll have to take care of yourself as well. You'll probably need to get a job," he suggested, as Paul's body turned stiff. But Paul was understanding and respectful, so he nodded._

 _"Don't worry, you won't be completely alone. Aunt Vivian will be here to take care of you while I'm gone. And I'll come to visit you when I can."_

 _Paul's lips straightened into a thin line and his onyx eyes penetrated into Reggie's. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You have a great opportunity, so take advantage of it."_

 _Reggie smiled. "That's why I have the best brother," he said._

 _~.~.~._

In that period of time, Paul was alone. At first, he despised it. The loneliness was almost like a sword in his heart, squeezing and throbbing every day to be a constant pain. It was a type of emtpyness he felt inside slowly consuming him. However, gradually, he had gotten accustomed to it and without even realizing it, he realized he preferred it that way. He didn't know whether this trait was the cause that led him to be distant from his friends or not, but he knew that he was always comfortable being alone, unless he would grow used to another person.

Strangely, when Reggie had left for college, Aunt Vivian had never shown up. In fact, Paul had rarely seen her. For this reason, Paul had lived alone during his years of high school up until this point in his life, and it was a constant struggle, even more so when Reggie had the accident.

"Paul? Hey, what an awesome painting!" Misty exclaimed from beside him, looking at the painting held in Paul's hands. "Is he your brother?"

The bell rang, allowing Paul to escape a sigh of relief, as he grabbed his belongings and painting before he walked away, not noticing Misty following him from behind him. "Wait!" she called, before she tripped over something and fell. Paul winced, but Misty stood up before she could embarrass herself any further. "Sorry for intruding, but I just wanted to say I really love your painting."

"Thanks," he said. "I worked really hard on it."

"I was also wondering," she added, "If you could do a portrait of one of my sisters. I think it would be a really great birthday present."

Paul was surprised to say the least. He raised an eyebrow. What was so special about his artistic skills? Sure, he was an excellent painter, but he didn't realize it was _that_ praise-worthy. "Why me?" he asked.

"Because I think you're the best painter. When I looked at your painting, it seemed like every streak was perfection. I mean I'd do it myself, but I'm not exactly the best painter. In fact, I got a C for this assignment," she admitted sheepishly.

"Hm," Paul added.

Misty nodded, placing her palms together. "So...what do you say?"

Paul sighed. "I'll need a picture of your sister," he said, and Misty grinned.

"Sure. Just give me your number and I'll show you a pic of her," she said as she brought out her cell phone, and began to create a new contact. Ash, who was currently walking down the hallway, waved towards Misty. "Oh, hey Ash," she said.

"What's up?" he asked, approaching Misty, then noticing the plum haired male. "Hey Paul."

Paul nodded to greet the ebony haired male. "Is there any other way you can show me a picture? I don't have a cell phone," he admitted. Both Ash and Misty's eyes widened in shock. Paul rolled his eyes at the usual reaction he'd get whenever he'd confess he didn't own a cell phone.

Misty shrugged. "That's fine," she said and instead searched through her gallery of pictures. "You do have an email and a computer though, right?" she asked to which Paul nodded. "Great, so just give me your email address and I'll send you a pic of my sis," she said.

Paul nodded, as he took out a pen and scribbled his email address on a piece of paper and handed it to the carrot-top. Satisfied, Misty simply just took a picture of the email and stored it in her phone. "Thanks, Paul. I'll see you around," she said before she and Ash walked away.

While the two were walking, Ash asked, "What was that about?"

"Hm?" The question didn't register until after a few seconds. "Oh, I needed an excuse to get Paul's number. So, I did it very carefully without him thinking that I'm needy or something."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just...I don't know...ask him?"

Misty sighed. "Because I don't want him to know that...I might have a crush on him," she admitted. Ash's eyes widened. "If I just go up randomly and ask for his number, that'd be weird. That's why I didn't directly ask him. So now, I can talk to him via e-mail. First, I'll casually ask him about the progress of the painting and then soon enough, we'll begin-"

"Woah...okay, calm down. Why would you have a crush on Paul, of all people?" Ash asked out of curiosity.

"What's wrong with liking Paul?" the carrot-top asked as the two sat at a table in the cafeteria. "I just want to get to know him better."

Ash chuckled. "That's going to take a while. Paul has trouble expressing how he feels and he kinda gets uncomfortable around others. He also has a bit of an anger issue...wait, I actually see how you two will be compatible, I mean you have anger problems yourself so..." Ash said jokingly, which resulted in Misty rolling her eyes.

o - o - o - o - o

 _ **3:31 p.m.**_

May watched Ms. Grace with a boring expression, as she wrote the letters 'NO TALKING' on the blackboard, which the brunette thought to be considered ironic since nobody besides her was here in detention. The brunette now had detention almost every day for the past week, as she hadn't returned her assignment because of a certain little brother she had. During that time, she had to read her chemistry textbook and submit a written summary of each chapter.

Fifteen minutes had passed and May had already grown tired of the constant writing and occasional snoring she'd hear from Ms. Grace as she laid her face down on the front desk. At this point, May could have just choosen to walk out the door and not give a crap about this, but she wouldn't be caught dead trying to escape detention and risk getting into more trouble.

As she continued writing, she heard someone whisper her name from across the window. Her blue eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when she realized it was Drew. She walked over to where he was and whisper-yelled. "What are you doing here? You'll get in me trouble!"

"Why are you in detention?" Drew asked. "Huh, who knew, little miss goody two shoes who refuses to cheat on a test is actually in detention. You _are_ a rebel," he said with amusement.

May rolled her eyes. "I'm not a rebel. I just didn't submit a chemistry assignment. I have to make it up to get a good grade and if you don't leave right now, I could get in trouble."

Drew eyed Ms. Grace who seemed like she was in a deep sleep. "Please, you could leave and she'd never know," he said.

"No, but about after when she wakes up? She'll notice I'm gone," she said.

Drew rubbed his chin in thought and then walked towards the door to open it. May watched in curiosity as he then walked towards Ms. Grace and began to wonder what he had in mind. "Ms. Grace!" he yelled, and she jumped out from her seat, completely thrown off. "There's been an emergency! Your husband's gotten into an accident!" he exclaimed. May face-palmed. _What is this idiot doing?!_

"My husband?!" she gasped. "That's terrible, I better go to him ASAP, but I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Oh...I don't know...maybe it's because I don't have a husband?" she said, putting a hand on her hip knowingly and staring at the chartreuse headed male.

Drew paled. "Oh..." he said, sounding like an ignorant idiot while Ms. Grace nodded. "Oops?" Ms. Grace gave him a dead-panned look and instructed him to take a seat, as she gave him a paper. "What's this?" he asked.

"You'll be writing a thousand word essay on why it's wrong to lie to a teacher, or better yet, to me," she said, lowering her glasses so she could glare at Drew. "Nothing gets past me," she said before sitting down again and then closing her eyes.

"I'm surprised," Drew commented sarcastically as he grabbed a pen from his backpack.

"I heard that," Ms. Gracie said.

"Idiot," May whispered softly.

o - o - o - o - o

Dawn was currently taking out her Math textbooks and other supplies when Leaf greeted her. "Hey. Are you going home now?"

Dawn closed her locker and responded, "No, I have a tutor session with Paul. My Math grades are really improving and I don't want to risk getting a bad grade ever again, so the more I learn from Paul, the better my grades are," she said.

Leaf smirked. "Awww, look at you two. Studying together, painting together, being friendly together. Soon enough you two won't be able to resist each other. I'll be a bridesmaid at your wedding," she said, and Dawn looked at Leaf as if she had grown two heads.

Dawn scoffed. "I don't even like Paul that way. In fact, I'll be surprised if Paul even regards me as his friend," she said as she began to walk towards the library with Leaf beside her. "But anyways, enough about me. You haven't even told me where Gary's taking you out as yet."

Leaf sighed. "I wish I knew. All he told me was that it was going to be a surprise, so that's all you're gonna get."

"Well, like I said, I'm really happy for you, Leaf." Dawn smiled as the brunette returned the smile. "Well anyways, I'll see you later, gotta meet up with Paul." Leaf nodded before waving her blunette friend goodbye and with that, Dawn entered the library.

She walked towards the interior where his usual spot was but it was currently vacant; no one was there. She eyed around for Paul while glancing at her watch simultaneously. He was never tardy, in fact he had a strict punctual time of when the two would meet up. Dawn was about to ask Gretchen of his whereabouts when she noticed Paul on the other aisle, standing on a ladder. He looked as if he was struggling to reach for a book. Dawn was going to greet him, but decided otherwise when she noticed the ladder begin to stumble and lose balance. She ran towards the ladder in an attempt to steady it, however, in just a split of a second, Paul began to lose his balance when the ladder fell backward and Dawn screamed when Paul fell against her in a loud thud.

She groaned when her back hit the floor; she could practically feel it throbbing and she hadn't realized she had closed them before she opened them again, only to realize her face was extremely close to Paul's. Without warning, her heart began to beat faster - which was a strange occurence - and she was able to inhale his cologone. Paul couldn't move; it seemed as if he was frozen and just continued staring.

"Oh no! Are you guys okay?!" Gretchen asked worriedly before the two tried to separate, but they couldn't. Dawn's necklace had become entangled into Paul's shirt. Both Dawn and Paul reached for the necklace, which ended up making contact with each other's hands instead. Dawn retracted her hand, as Paul removed the hook slowly. Paul stood up and looked at Gretchen, who seemed to be smirking, but then made a straight face.

"We're fine...for the most part," he said, as Dawn stood up as well.

Gretchen sighed a breath of relief. "Thank Arceus. Paul, please be careful next time. Okay? You too, Dawn."

They both nodded and Gretchen took the ladder with her before she walked away. Dawn was now playing with her fingers, not exactly knowing what else to say or do, that is until, Paul spoke. "Are you okay?"

That question surprised Dawn; he had never been concerned about her well-being and this question sounded so foreign coming out from Paul. "Yeah...I think so. Maybe I have a bruise but I'll be fine. What about you?"

Paul nodded. "I think I have some balm in my backpack. Rub it on the bruise tonight and you'll be fine," he said, "Are you still in a good condition to work on some Math problems?"

Dawn was rendered speechless. Not only was he asking about her well-being, but he was also thinking of postponing the tutoring session? "Okay, what gives? You're never _this_ nice to me. You always at least throw one insult towards me."

Paul rolled his eyes. "I'm not that big of a jerks," he said. "Plus," he added, "I've run out of insults." He smirked before walking towards their spot. Dawn bit her lip to prevent her from smiling before she sat down in front of him.

As they were about to begin, Gretchen walked towards them. "Hey guys, I'm sorry to disturb you, but Paul, you have a call from someone in the principal's office." Paul nodded before he stood up and walked away. Gretchen then watched Dawn with amusement. "So you and Paul, huh?"

Without warning, Dawn's cheeks turned pink. "What do you mean?"

Gretchen laughed. "Fine. Be that way. You can pretend that nothing between you and Paul is going on, but I know that you two will eventually end up together," she said.

Dawn scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Paul would never be interested in someone like me. And don't you have a job to do?"

Gretchen's smirk didn't falter. "Chasing me away, huh? Okay, I'll go and leave you little lovebirds," she said, before leaving as Dawn rolled her eyes.

But Dawn got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She noticed now that when she'd think about Paul, her face would heat up and her heartbeat would accelerate. She couldn't think straight and she had no idea what was happening.

Her cell phone interrupted her thoughts, resulting in her jumping in her seat a little, before she removed it from her pocket. Her eyes grew wide when she read the caller ID. It was the Lumoise hospital. She answered before placing the phone towards her ear. "Hello?" Talking could be heard across the line, and Dawn's eyes widened eventually became as wide as dinner plates and her jaw dropped before she instintaneously grabbed her belongings and ran out of the library.

o - o - o - o - o

Paul knocked on the door a few times before he opened it. He looked at the front desk lady. "I'm Paul. I heard there's a call from me," he said, to which the front lady smiled and handed him the phone. "Hello?"

"Paul? This is Doctor Francis from Lumoise Hospital."

Paul gripped the phone tightly, waiting.

"Your brother, Reggie, is awake."

o - o - o - o - o

 _ **Hey all! Good news! I have spring break right now, and managed to get another update for you guys :) A lot happened in this chapter so I hoped you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed typing it up.**_

 _ **Also, why is there no option to create that break line in fanfiction docs? o_O Is it a glitch or something? I had to use another method to create a change in scene.**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. Thanks for reading!**_


	13. Shattered

The blunette frantically ran out from the library, not dwelling in any other thoughts than her mother. While running, she called May who picked up almost immediately. "Hey," Dawn heard the brunette say.

Dawn was out of breath but still had the strength to talk. "May! Meet me in the parking lot right now, we need to go to Lumoise Hospital as soon as possible!" Dawn said, but before May could respond, she hung up not wanting to waste any more precious time. A tear escaped Dawn's eye before she took out a small pocket-sized photo of her mom she began to keep with recently. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to breath while clutching on to the picture.

"Dawn? What's wrong?" May asked when she saw Dawn about to cry vigorously.

More tears escaped her eyes. "It's mom. She...might not make it," May's eyes widened. "I got a call from the hospital a few minutes ago and they told me her condition is really critical right now...there's not much time," she said softly, her eyes wavering.

May didn't hesitate or wait any longer, seeing the emergence of the situation. "Let's go," she said before the two walked to May's vehicle.

* * *

 _ **Monday, September 12th; Lumoise Hospital; 5:19 p.m.**_

Paul was in a state of shock, to say the least. He just couldn't process the fact that his older brother Reggie, who had been in a coma for several months was _finally_ awake. The most important individual in his life was alive. For the first time in months and what seemed like forever to Paul, adrenaline had rushed to his brain and Paul finally felt...content.

Both Drew and Paul were currently outside the ICU unit, waiting for a chance to see Reggie again. The chartreuse headed male had bumped into Paul as he had practically rushed out of the school building and when Paul told him that his older brother was awake, Drew knew he needed someone to be there with him in this type of joyous occasion.

Paul's eyes widened as a thought came to him. What if Reggie didn't remember him? He _did_ suffer from brain damage, which could lead to a chance of memory loss. Although to be honest, memory loss was immensely fabricated in movies and books. He was just being paranoid, he hoped. He bit his lip and clenched his teeth in anticipation.

Drew looked over at him. "Whoa, what's the matter? You okay, Paul?"

His shoulders stayed stiff for a while until he relaxed. He looked at Drew before closing his eyes. "I just...can't wait to see him," he said. Drew smiled. He had never witnessed Paul being overjoyed, and even though it wasn't explicit, his subtle smile and the manner in which he was anticipating to see his older brother after such a long while caused Drew to feel really happy for his friend.

"I can't wait to see him either. I know he means a lot to you," he said in response. Drew had barely met Reggie, having only been in simple conversations back when he wasn't in a coma. It was going to be interesting seeing him again.

The two stayed silent for a while until a familiar older looking man came into view. Drew read the name. _Francis._ "Paul Shinji?" Paul stood up immediately, and bored his eyes into the doctor's. "You can go see Reggie now. But be mindful, okay? He only woke up a few hours, don't overwhelm him. He might not be aware of his surroundings."

Paul nodded. "Understood."

The door opened, with Paul slowly closing it from behind. He turned around and walked cautiously towards Reggie, who as usual, was laying in the bed. His eyes were closed, but somehow Paul knew that Reggie felt his presence. He sat down on the chair that was sitting next to the bed and stared at his brother.

Reggie stirred in his sleep and momentarily groaned, before his eyes opened for the third time that day. Paul's heart was racing and he wanted to acknowledge himself, but he waited for just the right moment. The older looking male looked around the room, until he noticed someone sitting on a chair.

Reggie's eyes narrowed and he seemed to be pondering over something. He kept looking at Paul, trying to fathom him, but was also very confused. Paul closed his eyes, frowning at this. However, Reggie looked at Paul's hair and his intoxicating eyes when Paul opened them. His eyes widened.

"P...Paul?"

Paul's heart soared. It soared with excitement and thrill. It was at that moment where Paul was extremely relieved and no longer had a burden upon his shoulders. He nodded, and at the same time, a tear escaped his eye. "Don't cry. I don't think I've ever seen you cry, Paul," Reggie said, cracking a small smile to his younger brother.

He didn't care if he was being emotional. "You have no idea how much I missed you; how much I've been through just to see...this day." He closed his eyes again. "You have no idea how happy I am," he said, with a small smile on his face.

* * *

 _ **5:36 p.m.**_

Dawn and May were eventually in front of the Johanna's ICU, where Dawn couldn't do anything but wait. Her legs were trembling and her heart was aching. Her brunette friend sat down beside her, trying to comfort Dawn. "Dawn, it'll be okay. Maybe your mom will be fine," May said. Dawn looked over to her best friend and sighed. "Come on Dawn, you should be optimistic about this! That's who you are. Just believe in your mom and everything will be fine."

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her friend was right. There was no reason to jump into conclusions just yet. Her mother's condition was critical, and she hadn't lost her. "You're right. I'm just...going to stay calm and wait for some information on my mom," she said. She took out her mom's picture again.

 _You'll be okay, won't you mom?_

Meanwhile, May texted Leaf to be over here when she could. The brunette looked around for a water dispenser and saw one in the far corner. "I'm going to get you some water," she said as Dawn nodded before she walked over to the water dispenser.

The brunette took a cup and allowed the liquid to pour when she suddenly saw Drew sitting at the far end. Curious, she walked over when she saw him pacing around the room. The chartreuse male didn't seem to notice her until she spoke. "Drew?" He suddenly stopped pacing and looked at the brunette, with a somewhat shocked expression. "What are you doing here at the hospital? Is everything okay?"

Drew waved her off with a hand. "Oh yeah everything's fine. I'm just here for Paul."

May's brow raised in curiosity. "Paul's here too?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, it's been really good for him. Paul's brother finally woke up from being in a coma for several months."

"Wait, Paul has a brother? And he's been in a coma? For months?"

Drew nodded slowly. "Yes, yes and yes." He then shrugged. "I guess I can't really blame you for not knowing. I mean you and Paul didn't really know each other." May wasn't bothered by that information. She was more concerned of how coincidental it was that Dawn's mom also was suffering from a coma. "So...what are _you_ doing here?"

May gaped at Drew. "You're Dawn's friend, you should know too! Her mom's condition is just getting worse, and it's really saddening to see Dawn breaking down like this," she sighed. "I hope everything will be okay. I mean...Dawn's my best friend and I don't want anything bad to happen. She really doesn't deserve it."

Drew put a hand on her shoulder, to which she flinched to, but she quickly changed her demeanor. Drew couldn't help but to notice May would tense up or flinch when he'd try to touch her. He'd never try to do anything appropriate, which was far from his intentions. "I care about Dawn as much as you do. As soon as Paul finishes up, we'll be there for her."

May slowly smiled. "Good," she said before walking away, bumping right into Leaf. "Oh, sorry, Leaf!"

"Never mind that, how's Dawn?" The lighter brunette asked before she motioned towards Dawn, who seemed to be sitting depressingly on a chair. Both Leaf and May had never seen this side of Dawn before. Dawn was the spirited, cheerful girl that could brighten up any room. To see her in a depressed state was so foreign to them.

The two walked over to Dawn and sat down beside her. Dawn's eyes couldn't move and were constantly wavering. "Dawn, what's wrong with you? Nothing has happened and you...you're so bummed out." Leaf commented. "Whatever happened to 'no need to worry'?"

Dawn couldn't respond. She had no idea why but she had a strong feeling something terrible and drastic was going to happen. She couldn't shake off the feeling and it was constantly in her head. Ever since she had gotten the phone call from the hospital informing her about her mom, despite how hard she tried to stay positive, she just couldn't eliminate the negativity. The worst part was that this was everything she wasn't, just like May and Leaf were emphasizing.

"Dawn?"

Dawn and her friends stood up to Doctor Lewis, a doctor she had recognized who Elisa, the nurse, often worked alongside with. Dawn held hands with her friends and constantly kept repeating 'no need to worry' silently in her mind, while anticipating for any news. "Well, Dawn, I know your mother was in a coma for about two months and..." the doctor sighed, making Dawn's lips part in anticipation. "This is never easy to say." It was right then and there that Dawn had an idea of what he was going to say, but she chose not to believe it. She wanted a ray of hope.

But everything shattered into fragile pieces.

"Your mom didn't make it, Dawn. I'm very sorry."

Both May and Leaf were shell-shocked and tried to reason with the doctor, despite the idea of it being ridiculous. "What?! But...no! That can't happen!" May exclaimed. "You couldn't save her?!"

The doctor sighed. "We've put in our best efforts. Unfortunately, her respiratory system was becoming extremely shallow and her body was not responding to any of the tests. The brain damage was a significant reason for the passing away of Johanna."

Instintaneously, tears spilled onto Dawn's cheeks and she felt numb and her knees weakned as she fell to the floor, curled up into a ball and sobbing into her palms. The blunette couldn't believe it. Dawn had been strong for these past couple months with a hope that her mother might be recovering soon, but little did she know how wrong she was.

"Dawn!" May crouched down to her level. "Pl-please stop crying," she said, despite a tear spilling on her cheek. "It'll be-"

"STOP! It's _not_ okay! I j-just lost the most important person of my life! I...I lost my m-mom!" She exclaimed. The bluenette was so confused, depressed, angry and numb. A swirl of emotions was attacking Dawn. "It will never be okay...and you don't even know what that's like, May," she said, blubbering at this point. May looked at Dawn sadly. "Because you have...everything; a great family."

May suddenly lost her will for some reason.

"And me? I have nothing now. I'm all...alone," she said.

Leaf pulled Dawn up to her feet and put both of her hands on her shoulders. "Don't be stupid! You're not alone! You have us with you, Dawn. We're always going to be here for you-"

"Don't you get it, Leaf?! I'm an only child to whom I loved my mom the most because she was the only one there for me in my family! She wasn't just my mom, she was my friend, my role model, my-my...she was _everything!"_ She sniffed. "And now, I-I lost everything! Nothing will ever be the same," she said.

Both Leaf and May were trying to console her, but all Dawn could hear now was blood pounding in her ears. Her heart began to thud in her chest. Her vision disfigured, and she felt the room getting smaller. Her breaths began to grow rapidly and becoming increasingly shallow.

"What's wrong with Dawn?" May asked worriedly.

"Doctor!" Leaf exclaimed when she saw the blunette beginning to hyperventilate and practically gasp for air.

Doctor Lewis immediately rushed over and informed the girls to move away. "Dawn, take deep breaths. Just breathe, you'll be fine." Dawn eventually calmed her breathing, and now her heart stopped racing. Her vision cleared and it was now that she was felt air circulate in the room. She blinked, escaping away a few more tears. That was the most frightening experience of her life. "Are you okay, Dawn?"

"W-what just happened?" May asked.

The doctor responded, "Dawn just had a panic attack."

* * *

 _ **6:21 p.m.**_

Paul just walked out of Reggie's ICU after a meaningful conversation. Reggie's memory had been a little rusty and he was constantly coughing and stumbling on his words, which meant that he had a long way to go before he was completely recovered. For now, Paul was just satisfied that his brother was awake. Doctor Francis had informed Paul that Reggie would need to stay in for a couple of more days in order to test his cognitive behavior, physical therapy, check-ups and any sort of vitals and organs.

Drew walked over to Paul with a smile. "Well, look at you. Even though there's not really a smile on your face, I can tell that you're pretty happy."

Paul nodded, his lips straightening into a thin line. "We talked. I talked to my brother and even though his memory was foggy, I'm happy to know he's alive and will coming home eventually," he said, then added, "that was the longest conversation I ever had with Reggie."

"You _were_ in there for quite a bit. What did you guys talk about?"

"I'm not going all over the details, but we mainly reminiscised about whatever older days we had together and what plans we have for when he comes back home." Paul replied. Drew grinned and put an arm around his shoulder, to which Paul accepted.

"Guys!" The two boys heard someone exclaim before they saw Leaf running up to them. "Hey, I know it's really strange and sudden but you guys need to drive us home right away!"

Drew removed his arm and asked, "Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

Leaf sighed. "Dawn had a panic attack a few minutes ago and we wanted to go home, but May's vehicle is running low on gas and there's not a close gas station by. We really need a ride home so please-"

"Say no more," Paul said, cutting her off as he took out his car keys.

* * *

 _ **8:11 p.m.**_

Dawn walked motionlessly and numbly over to where May and Leaf were leading her to. It was currently after eight in the evening and the stars were currently glistening across the night sky. The air was chilly, but it slowly began to pierce her skin. Her tears were currently clouding her vision and she didn't have the courage to look at anybody, let alone say anything at all.

Paul noticed Dawn's demeanor and immediately knew something was off. He stood there, with a hand in his pocket, assuming it was the panic attack that had compelled her to resort towards this dull demeanor. Paul sat in the driver's seat while Drew sat in the passenger seat next to him. The three girls took their seat in the rear with Dawn resting her head on Leaf's shoulder.

The plum-haired male scrunched his eyebrows in confusion noticing Dawn's depressed looking state, but quickly started the engine before the car was on the road.

* * *

When the vehicle was parked in front of May's house, the three girls thanked Paul before getting out of the car. Paul couldn't take his eyes off of Dawn. It was so unusual for him to be witnessing this side of Dawn-he didn't even know such a dark, depressed side of her even existed. He was extremely curious.

Drew was surprised when he mentioned something along the lines of 'I'll be right back' before he opened the car door and walked towards the front door, eventually stopping May. "Hey...what do you want?"

He found it strange and alien to ask, but he managed to speak. "Dawn seems...unusual. Is everything okay?"

May recalled Drew telling her that his older brother had woken up from a coma. She sighed. "You seem to care about Dawn despite not knowing much about her." Paul raised an eyebrow. "Do you know anything about Dawn? About what she's going through?"

"I'm not sure I understand."

May subtly smiled, but then frowned. "She's never been okay, Paul. I thought she would be eventually, but now I'm not so sure," the brunette started. "Dawn's mom died today from a coma. And now she's _very_ heartbroken because her mom was everything to her. For the past couple months, she's been living with me after her mom went into a coma. I thought that she'd be okay living with her best friend, but...I guess not."

Paul couldn't respond. And even if he wanted to, he wouldn't know what to say. The cheerful, annoying, bubbly and lively blunette that he had been tutoring for a while had related to him on so many levels. He never knew that she was in the exact same situation. All this while, he had only assumed a narrow perspective of who she truly was.

"So no, everything is not okay," May sighed sadly before she opened the door and closed it behind her.

* * *

 _ **Guys, this chapter is very depressing and it was extremely hard to write. I'm not sure how you guys will respond to this chapter. But trust me, this is needed for the story and for a drastic change in Dawn's character. This is also needed to fuel Paul and Dawn's relationship.**_

 _ **On to the good news now, which is that I'm going to be going into summer soon, which means more updates! Yay! Also I cannot wait to see the new Infinity Wars movie that's coming out soon!**_

 _ **Anyways, as always thanks for reading and please review!**_


	14. Aftermath

_**Hey guys. Well, here's an early update and this one is pretty long as well! Not much to say here except enjoy.**_

* * *

 _ **8:30 p.m.**_

Paul stared at the door in slight shock and disbelief, not able to move. He looked up at the grand house that Dawn was fortunate to live in and sighed, forming a fist with his palm. He briefly recalled the day when he had saved her from getting hit by a car, and dropping her off here to ensure her safety. When he had first laid eyes on this place, he automatically assumed she was living a grand, luxurious life with everything being handed over to her with ease.

" _Dawn's mom died today from a coma. And now she's very heartbroken because her mom was everything to her."_

The purple haired male clenched his eyes shut and it looked like he was contemplating to knock on the door before he heard Drew approaching him from behind. "Hey, what's wrong man? You okay?"

He wasn't sure how to respond. He had never felt this way, about a girl, let alone _anyone._ This new feeing surprised him and he wasn't sure what to call it. Was it sympathy? Whatever it was, all Paul wanted to do was admittedly talk to Dawn. Comforting and attempting to reassure her was probably difficult for him, but he knew he could at least reason with her.

Drew seemed to connect the pieces together. "You're worried about Dawn, aren't you?" Paul widened his eyes, but remained silent. "I feel really bad for her; I bet everyone is. She didn't deserve it, especially after all what she's been going through," he sighed and paused before continuing. "Isn't it ironic and unfortunate that your brother survived and Dawn's mom didn't?"

That caused Paul to look at Drew as if he had uttered something worth noticing. His eyes wavered when he realized what he said was true. He briefly began to wonder why Dawn was so unfortunate all this while. He looked at Drew. "I don't understand." Drew raised his brow and Paul continued when he realized when he wanted clarification. "I don't understand _why_ this happened. It...doesn't make sense."

Drew shrugged. "I don't know, but who does? Whatever happens is for a reason right? At least, that's what I think." Paul agreed with him internally, but his mind was filled with questions. What could have been the reason? Why was she going through this? "Look, I know you probably want to talk to Dawn, but it's really late and we have school in the morning. She has Leaf and May for her right now, so...hopefully she's fine for now."

Paul sighed internally and then nodded after a bit of hesitation. The two walked off the porch and made their way to Paul's vehicle. He turned the engine once they were in and eventually they were off on the road.

* * *

 _ **9:48 p.m. May's residence.**_

The news of Johanna's passing eventually was aware by the Maple family. As soon as Dawn returned, she was immediately comforted by Norman and Caroline, who was also grieving their acquaintance's death. The two adult figures couldn't do much except console her while Dawn cried vigorously on their shoulders. Norman and Caroline had already considered Dawn their other daughter, so naturally it felt normal to be able to grieve and comfort her. Even though Dawn wasn't sure if she ever considered them as their parents, it was the nicest and genuine action she had ever received from the Maple household.

May and Leaf, who was seated on the couch, were watching Dawn as she sat depressingly across from her two best friends with nothing but a dull and empty expression. Her tears had eventually stopped falling, but the two girls knew that their best friend was crushed internally. Caroline walked over to the blunette with a cup of coffee in her hands, offering it to her.

Her sapphire eyes made contact towards her, but she responded, "I'm sorry...I don't really want anything," she said.

Caroline placed the cup on the coffee table beside the couch and sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Dawn, you haven't eaten anything in over five hours. You had a panic attack, and I'm sure you're hungry. At least drink this."

Dawn closed her eyes. "I'm not in the mood." Caroline was about to protest when Dawn pressed on. " _Please_ ," she whispered. Caroline only sighed and nodded before she got up, looking over at Leaf and May. She directed her eyes over to Dawn, indicating for them to be with Dawn.

The two girls nodded before Caroline left the living room and they both sat next to Dawn. Leaf's lips parted, as if she was about to say something, but the truth was, she didn't know what to say. "Guys...I know you're trying to comfort me, but please...I wanna be alone now."

May's eyes softened. "But Dawn-"

Leaf cut her off. "She's probably right." May looked at Leaf as if she had grown two heads, not satisfied with leaving Dawn alone. "Maybe you should go into your room." Dawn nodded slowly before she stood up and walked upstairs, leaving the two girls alone.

Leaf sighed. "What should we do? This is terrible. Dawn has _never_ been like this. Did you see her? She's absolutely broken inside and I feel even worse because there's not much I can do."

May nodded. "I can never know how this actually feels. I've never lost anyone in my family and I can't reason with her." May recalled the words Dawn had said when they were at the hospital. ' _It will never be okay...and you don't even know what that's like, May. Because you have everything; a great family.'_ May never realized how fortunate and lucky she was. Any child would dream of living in a luxurious family and be provided with a roof over her head, food on the table, love and affection. It made her realize that her family was _everything._

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Leaf rasied an eyebrow before May walked and opened the door, only to be greeted by her fourteen year old brother. She looked at the time and looked at her brother in disbelief. "Why are you coming home _this_ late?! Do you have any idea what time it is Max?" she yelled. Leaf, who was suddenly feeling awkward, just continued to watch.

Max scrunched his eyebrows in confusion before entering. "What the hell? Why are you yelling at me?"

May closed the door behind her and put a hand on her hips. "You come home every day around four after baseball practice. And today, it's almost ten and-"

"I was at a movie with my friends! I asked mom and dad and...wait why are _you_ so worried? You barely even care about me, so where's this sudden affection coming from?" Max crossed his arms.

May rolled her eyes. "I'm your sister, Max. I'm always going to be concerned for you," she said. Max scoffed unbelievably as he looked in the other direction. She sighed before continuing. "Look..." she said before trailing off. She took a seat on the couch and indicated for Max to sit next to her. He urged her to continue.

She sighed before starting. "Dawn's mom died today," she said, resulting in Max widening his eyes. "And she's not doing so well. But..it made me realize how lucky I am to have this family and have you as my brother. I know this cheesy talk is probably awkward for you right now but I just wanted to let you know."

Max looked at her older sister. "So...why are you always arguing with me? Did you hate me?"

May smiled softly. "Of course not. I could never hate my dorky brother," she lightly giggled. "But I was always jealous," she admitted.

Max raised his brow in curiosity. "Why would you be jealous of me? I'm a dork and a know it all."

"Exactly. But you're also the perfect kid. You get perfect grades, you never do anything wrong, you're extremely smart for your age and you always get more attention from mom and dad."

Max was about to protest and comment about that being ridiculous, but he stayed silent. He was lost for words and never realized that May had a point. He also never noticed the amount of attention that he had gotten from their parents. "Wow...I didn't you felt that way." May straightened her lips into a thin line. "Why didn't you tell me? Or mom and dad? We could have worked something out."

May sighed. "I don't know...I guess I wasn't ready to talk about how I was feeling. I think I was also afraid."

Max took off his glasses and set it on the table. "Well could you at least talk about it to me rather than argue with me for months over nothing? I mean, it used to be fun but it got annoying afterwards."

May laughed and put an arm around him. "I'm sorry," she said before Max grinned and punched her shoulder playfully. "I still am gonna pick fights with you though...but it won't be extreme," she confessed. Leaf, who was smiling all this while at the brother sister bond, briefly wished she could have a younger or older sibling she could talk to. She was happy the two siblings were able to make up.

The fourteen year old simply chuckled in response. "Wouldn't want it any other way," he patted her shoulder before he stood up. "Okay, is this mushy talk over now?" May nodded. "Where's Dawn? I think I wanna talk to her."

Leaf, who had been respectfully mum during their talk finally spoke up. "She's in May's room, but she wants to be alone for a while."

Max nodded. "It's just for a few minutes though. I think I may have a way for her to feel better," he said vaguely before walking upstairs. May looked at Leaf, confused and all Leaf did was shrug, not sure what he meant.

* * *

 _ **10:13 p.m.**_

The blunette was currently lying lifelessly on her bed, staring at the ceiling, with nothing but her thoughts of her mother. Memories of when she was alive kept flooding her mind. She told her mom absolutely everything. Her mom was the one person she trusted the most. She knew about her math disorder, her first crush, her friends, her favorite songs...everything. Even May and Leaf didn't know much about Dawn as much as her mom did.

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard a knock. For some reason she envisioned her mother coming in and giving her a kiss goodnight. "Hey, Dawn. Can I come in?" Dawn sat up and wiped her tears away before she gave a response.

Max closed the door behind him and looked at Dawn, who smiled sadly. "Hey. How was school?"

Max sat down next to Dawn. "Okay, I'm not a kid, Dawn. You don't have to pretend like nothing happened." Dawn looked at him expectedly. "I heard what happened. I'm really sorry for your loss," he said.

Tears formed in her eyes and she couldn't face him, resulting in her looking in the other direction. Max looked at Dawn with sympathy in his eyes. "I have no idea how you feel, but I probably assume that it's horrible. No one would want to lose their mom. I know I wouldn't." Dawn sighed and wiped her tears before looking at him again, appreciating the fact that he was consoling her.

A thought suddenly came into Max's mind. "Okay, I'm not sure how you'll feel after I say this, but why don't you have a funeral?" Dawn blinked and seemed to be deep in thought. "It would give you the perfect chance to say goodbye to your mom."

Dawn bit her lip. "I can't...I can't just say goodbye. It'll be too hard for me. I don't think I can take it."

Max shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. But it's better than just not letting yourself heal. I think holding a funeral would give you the perfect opportunity to have a proper goodbye. You can also talk about how you feel and I think you'll feel a bit better afterwards."

Dawn contemplated the idea for a while. There was no doubt that Dawn wasn't ready to let her mother go. In fact, she was barely processing the fact that she was gone. Could she ever be ready to bid goodbye to the most important person in her life?

Max put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll leave you alone for now. It looks like you need time to think about it," he said.

Dawn gave him a soft smile. She had always seen Max as her younger brother, and he was doing exactly what a sibling would do during a time like this. "Thanks, Max."

He retreated his hand and grinned. "Hey it's the least I could do, for a fourteen year old like me, that is," he said. Dawn's smile widened a bit before he stood up and eventually exited the room, leaving Dawn alone with her thoughts.

* * *

 _ **10:37 p.m. Paul's residence.**_

Paul stared at the frying pan while he began to cook his eggs for a considerable amount of time. Whatever he tried to do, he just couldn't get Dawn out of his head. He was constantly reminded of all the times he had insulted her for no plausible reason. He realized he had hurt her on several occasions, just because of the mere fact that he had never liked her. He had indirectly added to her grievances.

The eggs began to sizzle, bringing him away from his thoughts and he focused his attention on the eggs. He flipped them and allowed it to cook for a while before he took out a plate and placed the eggs there. He then began to eat in silence.

After washing up, he took a warm shower where he began to dwell on something else; his brother. Now that Reggie was awake, there were only a few days remaining before he could come home after several months. He had been anticipating this day for a long while and was glad the day was soon to come.

The plum haired male opened his laptop, which had been acting up for several months. He had a pretty old laptop with a poor operating system. Luckily he had been saving up money so he could purchase a new one in the future. He opened up his email once he was able to access the internet. He noticed he had a new email.

 _"Hey! It's Misty. I heard about Dawn's mom. It's so sad, I feel really bad for her. But on another note, did you start painting yet?"_

Once again, his thoughts drifted back towards Dawn and he sighed while rubbing his face with his two palms. His eyes widened when his heart began to ache. He felt an emotional inclination towards Dawn's situation and then he realized that whatever he was feeling was indeed sympathy. A bit surprised, he pushed his laptop away forgetting about Misty's e-mail as he began to process his thoughts.

He began to get frustrated for some reason. Sure, he sympathised with Dawn, but why was she constantly in his head? Paul was about to close his laptop when he recalled the e-mail again. He wrote a response.

 _"No. I've been busy."_

With that, he closed his laptop and set it aside. Lying down, he reached across to shut off the lamp, closing his eyes.

As expected, he had trouble falling asleep.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday, September 13th; 2:47 a.m.**_

Dawn's eyes fluttered open, immediately noticing the pool of tears on her pillow. She sat up slowly, looking over at May's bed where May was sound asleep. The blunette walked over towards the bathroom.

She splashed water over her face several times and dried it before taking a look at her reflection. Her eyes had dark circles and her skin was extremely pale. Her lips were dry and her eyes were slightly red from the amount of crying. Her hair was a mess as she noticed the strands were all over the place.

Dawn opened the cabinet as she noticed a pair of scissors. Something told her to reach for it, so she did. She closed the cabinet before taking a longing look at her reflection before looking at the pair of scissors in her palm. Biting her lip, she took strands of her dark blue hair, as she imagined her mom's short hair. She gave a firm look in the mirror before the scissors began to snip several strands of her hair.

After fifteen minutes, she looked at herself once again and noticed herself in a new light. Her long, flowing hair was now gone. Now her strands barely reached her shoulder and for a split second, she envisioned her mother in the mirror. Her throat hurt again and a tear flowed out of her eye once again, but instead of wiping it away, she let it flow.

She eventually exited the bathroom and went back to bed, careful not to wake May up.

She closed her eyes, but never fell asleep that night.

* * *

 _ **6:30 a.m.**_

The alarm rung, resulting in May lazily reaching out to her phone and shutting it off. The brunette yawned before she sat up, still remaining in her bed. She looked over at Dawn, who had a blanket over her head.

Carefully, she got out of bed and walked over to Dawn's bed where she sat down. She reached out and touched Dawn's free arm that was outside the blanket. Her blue eyes then made contact with the pool of tears on her pillow. It didn't take long to figure out she had been crying all night.

"May," she mumbled from underneath the blanket, "Please don't. I don't want to go to school today."

May sighed and nodded, even though Dawn couldn't see her. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay." May didn't get a response and she eventually decided to get ready for school.

Dawn's phone began to ring and she groaned before she reached for it and dismissed the call, not in the mood for talking to anyone. It began to ring again before she groaned, annoyed and just decided to pick up.

"Hello?"

"...Hey."

Dawn's eyes widened before she removed the blanket and sat up, surprised at the familiar voice. She looked at the caller ID. _Drew._ Never would she have thought that Paul would call her from Drew's phone. She didn't know what to say. "Hey..."

Dawn could hear his heavy breathing across the phone. She was having trouble processing the fact that he was calling her. "I know it's early but maybe after school, I was thinking to...show you something," he said. Dawn blinked, a bit surprised at his offer.

If anything, Dawn was curious. She'd never expect Paul of all people to call her and ask her show her something. Was that his way of attempting to comfort her? She sighed. "Why?" she asked.

Paul ignored her question. "Just say yes," he insisted.

Dawn straightened her lips into a thin line and looked at nothing in particular. "Okay. Where should we meet?"

"I'll pick you up," was his reply. "At around four," he said.

Dawn was truly taken aback now. She couldn't process what was happening here. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

"Good question. Why do you have so many questions? Is that another annoying trait of yours?" Paul responded snarkily and Dawn envisioned him slightly smirking. "I'll see you later," he said before the call ended.

Dawn held the phone in her palm, before a small smile played on her lips as she laid back in bed.

* * *

 _ **4:00 p.m.**_

It was currently four in the afternoon and the house was empty. Both May and Max were at school and Norman and Maple were busy at work. May had insisted she stay home for today, but Dawn wouldn't let her.

Dawn was dressed up in a black tank top and some track pants. Her short hair was let loose and for the first time ever, she never combed it but just brushed through it. Her eyes were also still a bit red, but it was noticeably less from yesterday.

Within a few minutes, the blunette heard the doorbell ring. She walked over and opened it, revealing Paul. He looked at her weirdly before he spoke. "...You cut your hair?" he asked and Dawn widened her eyes.

Dawn brushed her hair a few times with her hand. She was a bit surprised he noticed. "Yeah so?"

Admittedly, Paul was more fond of Dawn's long luscious hair. He never made an effort to say anything though and instead said, "Come on."

Dawn nodded before she walked outside, closing the door behind her. She turned around before she tripped over the porch bench and yelped before Paul caught her tightly. He saw Dawn's eyes widened as his intoxicating eyes bored into her sapphire ones. Her breathing began to accelerate and her heart began to beat faster as Paul unconsciously held her waist tighter.

He could clearly see she was broken inside.

Dawn's eyes wavered before Paul eventually let her loose and allowed her to stand still. The two stood awkwardly before Paul cleared his throat and made his way to the vehicle, with Dawn following him from behind.

* * *

 _ **4:08 p.m.**_

Dawn was quiet during the entire car ride and she didn't once glance at Paul or even was aware of her surroundings. It was only when Dawn felt the car come to a halt did she realize where they were. She looked out the window and her jaw slightly dropped before she looked at Paul in awe.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Dawn questioned with a bit of annoyance in her tone. If Paul was attempting to be rid of the awful memories of her mother passing away that only happened _yesterday_ , he wasn't doing a very good job.

Paul looked at her. "I told you I was going to show you something."

Dawn rolled her eyes, not expecting any further explanation. She watched as Paul got out of the vehicle and Dawn reluctantly opened the car door before stepping out. The plum haired male glanced at her before he started walking, with Dawn following from behind. The two entered Lumoise Hospital and they made their way into the elevator.

Paul pushed the respective floor number as the two silently waited, not saying a word. Elevator music soothed their ears and both were instantaneously reminded of when they had first met, right in this very elevator. Dawn looked at Paul, who sensed she was looking at him and he caught her gaze. Before they could speak, a ding was heard and the elevator doors opened.

The blunette didn't understand. When she exited the elevator, memories of her mother passing away flooded her mind again. She was reminded of all the times she visited her mom, hoping there was a ray of hope and that she'd see her mom again. Why would Paul bring her _here?_

Dawn noticed Paul speaking to the doctor for a few and raised an eyebrow. She was confused and several questions penetrated her thoughts. Paul walked back towards Dawn and spoke. "...I want you to meet someone," he said.

She blinked in response. _Someone?_ Paul directed her over to the respective ICU room where Paul opened it and allowed Dawn to step inside. She noticed someone on the bed and glanced at Paul before approaching the figure.

When Dawn got a closer look of the person (who was currently asleep), she gasped slightly before looking at Paul. She recalled Paul's painting briefly and widened her eyes in disbelief. "Is he...?"

Paul nodded. "My brother; Reggie."

Dawn looked at Reggie and glanced at Paul again. The two undoubtedly resembled each other. The older brother had similar hair color and structure, and even had similar facial features. The only difference was that his hair was a bit longer. "He was in coma for several months," Paul said, allowing Dawn to look at him. "He got into an accident one day and I've been alone all this while. But he recently woke up yesterday."

Dawn was rendered speechless. She didn't know how to react.

Paul sighed. "I didn't bring you here to remind you about your mother. I just wanted to let you know that I...empathize with you," he admitted. "I know how you feel."

At this point, Dawn felt worthless. She just stood there motionlessly until she managed to walk out of the room. Paul was quick to catch up to her, however. He looked at her, briefly wondering what went wrong. "I don't want this, Paul." Paul raised an eyebrow. "I don't want your sympathy!" she yelled. "The only reason you're being nice to me is because you pity me and you feel sorry for me. And I don't want that. It makes me feel worthless," she said sadly, her eyes feeling misty.

"I was trying to help," Paul reasoned.

Dawn scoffed. "Helping me realize how worthless and lonely I am? Yeah, thanks very much," she responded sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Anger filled his eyes as he firmly grabbed her shoulders and gazed deep into her eyes. "Shut up. You're not worthless. I was simply trying to show you that we relate to each other."

Dawn felt slightly intimidated by him, especially since he was making it difficult for her to look away. "So you don't feel sorry for me? You're not being nice to me because you feel sorry for me?" Paul couldn't find a response. He _did_ sympathize with her, but he wasn't being nice because of it. She didn't deserve any more hurt coming her way. "For the past month, we've never liked each other. We always got into arguments for the most petty reasons. Heck, you _never_ gave me a ride and suddenly today you offered me one? Do you really expect me to believe you're being nice just because you want to?"

Paul's eyes wavered and his hands released her shoulder's grip, as he backed up giving her the respectable distance. Honestly, he couldn't blame her. He didn't know how to justify himself when he knew that what she said was right. Dawn's eyes softened for a bit when she noticed a look of hurt on his face.

The look of hurt quickly got replaced by anger however and he stormed towards her, grabbing her wrist tightly. Dawn widened her eyes. "You're right. I should _never_ sympathize someone, especially you. It was a mistake. Being nice only ends up being worse for me." Her lips parted in surprise when she saw just how angry he was. "This was the first time I tried to comfort someone and this is what I get."

Dawn wanted to retort but he cut her off. "Fine," he said, releasing her wrist. "You don't want me to be nice. You got your wish," he said before he started to walk away.

Guilt immediately coursed through her veins. "Wait!" she called after him, causing him to stop walking. She continued as she sighed. "I'm sorry but can you blame me? It's hard to believe that _you_ of all people would be this nice to me, especially what we've been through."

He slightly smirked before his expression turned nonchalant as he turned around to face her. "I guess I'm full of surprises," he said before continuing. "Now do you want to meet Reggie or not?" he asked. If anything, Dawn was confused. One second, he was furious with her and the next, he shook it off like it was nothing. Was he just feigning the whole time?

"Okay," she whispered.

* * *

 _ **4:31 p.m.**_

Reggie was now lying awake in bed. For the past several hours, he had been through a numerous amount of physical tests and procedures that would test his vitals, organs and reactions to certain situations. The doctors found that Reggie had to re-learn how to do certain simple tasks, such as eat, talk without stuttering, walk without losing balance and even use the bathroom. It was still going to be a while before he could return home.

His eyes darted towards the door when he saw his younger brother enter, but raised an eyebrow when a girl was behind him. "Hey Paul," he greeted and Paul nodded in response. His speech was much more fluid after those tests and the stuttering seemed to have vanished. "Who's this pretty lady behind you?" he asked as he got a closer look at the girl. For some reason, she looked vaguely familiar.

Paul looked behind him, deliberately not acknolwedging Dawn. "What pretty lady?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, unamused, as Reggie let out a small chuckle. "Funny," she responded sarcastically as Paul simply shrugged. "I'm Dawn, it's nice to meet you, Reggie," she said politely as she brushed through her hair with her palm.

"Are you two friends?" The older male asked, looking at the two.

Dawn wanted to laugh. "I'd prefer the term 'acquaintances'," Dawn said, while Paul stayed silent.

Reggie let out a grin. "So nothing has changed, eh? Still having trouble talking to girls...or anyone really," he teased. Paul groaned internally as Dawn managed to raise an eyebrow. Just from this one conversation, she could tell the two brothers were undoubtedly polar opposites...just like her and Paul, she realized.

Dawn sat down on the seat across from Reggie's bed. "My mom went through the same thing you did. She also got into a coma for a couple of months. But..." she trailed off, sighing, "she passed away yesterday," she admitted softly.

Reggie looked at Dawn sadly. "Oh man. I'm really sorry to hear that," he confessed.

Dawn nodded, her throat becoming weak and her tears misty again. "I really miss her," she said. "My mom was the only person I had in my family and she's gone. My friend's brother told me to have a funeral, but...I don't want to say goodbye."

Reggie nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel and I bet Paul does as well. When we were young, we lost our parents from a plane crash. It's really odd that I can still remember that, despite my memory being a little foggy. But I think you should have the funeral," he said. "When someone we love goes away, you can pay your respect to them. Don't think of it as saying goodbye, try to think of it as...setting her free or something. You can reflect on all the good times and thank her for everything."

Dawn let his words penetrate her mind. It was a hard decision for her and not something that she could just easily let go of. "It's your choice, Dawn," Reggie reminded her.

If there was anything her mother taught her when she was alive, it was that she always needed to be brave and strong, even during times of crises. She knew her mom wouldn't be proud of her at this moment, because all she had been doing was avoiding the harsh reality. Dawn let out a sigh when she came to a decision.

"I'm...I'm going to have the funeral," she spoke, after slight hesitation. Reggie grinned while Paul looked satisfied as he closed his eyes. "And I want you to be there," she suddenly decided.

Reggie smiled sadly. "I wish I could, but I'm restricted to this bed for at least a week." Dawn nodded in understanding. "But I'm pretty sure Paul wouldn't mind. Right Paul?" he asked, looking at him for approval.

There was no doubt Paul woould be present at the funeral. "I'll be there," he confirmed. Dawn smiled satisfactorily. "Anyway, we should be going. You have some more tests to take in half an hour right?" Reggie nodded in response before the two bid each other goodbye.

Dawn and Paul exited the ICU room when Dawn heard her ringtone blast. She quickly answered, her thumb sliding across the phone. "Hello? Yeah, May I'm fine...I'm at the hospital with Paul," she said. More talking was heard across the phone. "Don't worry, I'll be home in a few. Alright, see ya," she said before she hung up and faced Paul.

Paul had an intense gaze on her before his eyes darted somewhere else. Dawn cleared her throat. "Umm...thanks," she said, "for introducing me to Reggie. That was uncharacteristically nice of you," she said, biting her lip.

Paul only nodded in response. "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **11:31 p.m. Paul's residence.**_

Once Paul had dropped Dawn home, he returned home and immediately started working on the painting Misty had asked him to do. He kept staring at Daisy's (Misty's older sister) picture as he placed strokes of his brush on the canvas in front of him. While painting, he let his thoughts drift to Dawn. He had no idea why, but it felt really satisfying to see Dawn to somewhat break out of her shell.

His thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell chimed.

He wondered who could be here just minutes before midnight. He set the paintbrush down before walking towards the door. He was contemplating whether or not to open the door before the doorbell chimed again. Reluctantly, he opened the door slightly, as he got a full view of who it was.

He widened his eyes in shock. "...Aunt Vivian?"

* * *

 _ **So, I'm trying to visualize Dawn's new look. It's the same length of Serena's new haircut, but instead of wavy, it's much more straight and fluid. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading and as always, see you next time.**_


	15. Progression

"Hi, Paul."

Paul just continuing to stare at his aunt in disbelief. He couldn't believe that the woman who had ditched him and Reggie four years ago was here at his doorstep at midnight. His eyes' expression changed from shock to that of anger at that thought.

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the door handle and proceeded to shut it in her face, when Vivian placed her foot in between. She looked at him with pleading eyes.

He exhaled and opened the door again. "What are you doing here?"

Vivian's light purple eyes were filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I know you're probably wondering why I'm here _now_ after four years of not being with you, but before I explain myself I just want to let you know how sorry I am."

Paul scoffed. " _Please_ ,"he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "No explanation could give justice on why you abandoned me during the worst years of my life. I was left alone, while Reggie went to college. Because of that, Reggie had to constantly take time off from college and visit me because you never came. And on top of that, you were aware that Reggie was in the hospital for several months and yet you never even bothered to check up on us." There was no doubt that Paul was hurt and his aunt showing up after four years just escalated his anger.

Vivian nodded, her eyes gloomy. "I know. You can yell at me all you want. I've made a big mistake and I wanna fix it."

"Fix it?" Paul repeated, looking at her as if she'd said something ridiculous. "The damage's already been done, there is nothing you can do. Why are you even here?" he asked.

"I told you, I want to fix things…I know it might be too late, but please, just let me explain," she pleaded once again.

Paul hesitated as he crossed his arms in annoyance. He was a little sceptical of the fact that she was showing up now after four long years. He knew better than to trust this woman; in fact, he was pretty sure he despised her.

"I don't need an explanation," he said. Vivian was about to retort but he continued, "Thanks for the five-minute visit, you can leave now," he said before shutting the door.

"Paul!" he heard her exclaim before he locked the door.

He could never forgive her for what she did to him and Reggie. The phases of hardships he and Reggie had been through were the absolute worst. His aunt hadn't even bothered or cared about them. He had no idea what purpose she had for visiting him years later, but Paul knew she was being a hypocrite by doing so.

He exhaled, trying to relax himself and closed his eyes. He attempted to divert his mind a little, when he saw the painting he had been working on for Misty. He picked up the brush and resumed painting for about a half hour.

Before going to bed, he decided to check his email. He saw four emails from Misty and he clicked on them.

" _How's the painting coming along? Daisy's birthday is less than a month now, I hope you can finish soon."_

" _Also, you're invited to her birthday party. You can bring as many people as you like with you."_

" _You may want to bring her a gift."_

" _Sorry I keep emailing you, I just keep forgetting what I have to say. Are you going to the funeral for Dawn's mom this week? I bet she needs all the support she can get."_

Paul's mind instantaneously diverted to Dawn. He had definitely decided to go to the funeral, just to support her; something his family (other than Reggie) rarely did. Not only that, but for some reason, he didn't feel comfortable seeing her devastated. He preferred her quirky, cheerful and happy go lucky behaviour.

Sighing to himself, he closed the laptop before going to bed.

* * *

 _ **Saturday, September 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **; Lumoise Church; 5:30 p.m.**_

Coloured squares of light decorated the aisle. The magnitude of despair and devastation was clear in Dawn's sapphire blue eyes. Everyone was dressed in some shade of black, which only added to the depressing atmosphere. Sad hymns were being played and it was so tempting for Dawn to cry vigorously at this point.

A hand was put on her shoulder and she looked behind to see Leaf and May, who gave her sad smiles. Dawn smiled back, but barely, as her two closest friends sat next to her to give her comfort. Dawn noticed almost all her friends were here to support her, including Gary, Drew, Ash and Misty.

There was no sign of Paul anywhere though.

In front where the audience was sitting, there was an open casket. A preacher was currently praying for Johanna's soul to rest in peace.

Soon enough, everyone had their chance of making speeches, including Norman and Caroline, who had mourned for their friend. Dawn already had tears in her eyes. She couldn't bear to see this anymore. Her heart was aching every second.

While May was making her speech, Max sat next to Dawn. "You alright?" Dawn shook her head. "…Maybe this funeral was a bad idea?"

She wouldn't like to think of it as bad, but she knew she wasn't willing to do this, solely because of her dependency on her mom all these years. "No, you're right. I _have_ to do this, otherwise this will just eat me alive. My mom is gone and I just have to accept it. It's hard but…I can do it." Max smiled in response.

Finally, Dawn was called to the podium. She adjusted the edge of her black dress before walking, not taking her eyes off of the motionless body in the casket.

While Dawn stood there, the door creaked open a bit, however no one paid attention to who entered. Paul noticed Dawn on the podium looking for her speech and he quickly found a seat, waiting for her to commence.

Dawn eyed the speech on her paper she had made the prior day, but she could barely see it, as her tears were blurring her vision. She exhaled, attempting to speak, but failed. Everyone watched her with sympathy.

Paul watched as she motionlessly wiped her tears before crumpling up the paper and disposing of it somewhere. She took shaky breaths before beginning to speak.

"My mom was a fighter. Two months ago, she ended up in the hospital in a coma because of a car accident. Ever since then, she's been fighting for her life."

She exhaled before continuing. "As her only child, it's so hard for me to say goodbye," she said, tears spilling down on her cheeks. "I considered her to be my best friend and role model. I would come home after school every day and tell her everything; about my grades, my social life and even random crushes I had going on. She'd always tell me 'no need to worry'. And yes, that phrase is from her."

"Even though she was a single parent, I never felt like I had an absence of a dad, because I never thought I needed one. She was the one that taught me how to ride a bike and there was one day she even played 'dress up' with me. She'd yell at me whenever I would try to touch her make-up kit and put play with her lipstick," she laughed slightly as her voice began to break.

"She was always there when I needed her. She was always so generous, kind, loving and supportive. I would always be her top priority, even when it regarded her working late at night. That's just the way she was."

Paul continued to watch, not breaking eye contact. "Many people don't get the chance to say goodbye, and today, I have that opportunity." Dawn continued, looking at the casket. "Mom, you will always be remembered, and I will always miss you and love you."

She let out a long sigh and left the podium, her heart feeling at a bit of ease, before she sat down in her respective seat.

The preacher then returned to the podium and said a few more words before everyone stood up and said their final prayers. The casket closed and was picked up to be taken into another room where she was going to be cremated.

Eventually, people made their out of the hall to give Dawn their condolences. Leaf and May approached Dawn and the group shared a long hug. "We're so sorry, Dawn. You don't deserve this at all," Leaf said before the group released.

Dawn smiled weakly. "Thanks, Leaf." Her voice held little to no emotion. "Everyone has to go someday and even though it was unfortunate timing, I think I might be okay eventually."

"Good, because you're still welcome to stay with me for as long as you want," May suggested.

Drew, Gary and Ash approached the girls and they eyed Dawn sadly. "You okay, Dawn?" Drew asked. Dawn nodded slowly. "I know it must suck to lose your mom, but things will get better with time. I lost my grandmother at a young age, so I can relate to you."

"I also lost my parents when I was about six, but I mean I have my grandpa," Gary said. "I would _not_ wanna lose him at all, but I know it's inevitable at his age."

Ash put his hand on Dawn's shoulder for comfort. "Just so you know, if you ever feel like talking, you can talk to one of us. Though I recommend me out of these two guys, I'm the most mature," he said while the other two rolled their eyes. Dawn let out a small giggle. "And, we made you this," he said as he reached into his pocket. Dawn watched curiously as he held out what looked like a bracelet.

"What is-" she stopped herself short when she noticed the letter 'J' on the bracelet. Dawn smiled thankfully before she put it on. "Wow, thanks so much guys," she said, her eyes misty. "It means a lot."

"No problem," Gary said. "Anything to help out a friend."

"Dawn," May said, "Are you ready to leave soon?"

The blunette eyed the bracelet and then glanced where the coffin was. "You guys can get in the car. I'll catch up with you soon. I just…wanna be alone for a few."

May nodded in understanding. "Okay, don't be too long," she said before she walked along with the group.

Dawn sat down in silence, alone with her thoughts. There was no doubt that she missed her mom very much already; so much that it hurt. But she was also grateful for holding the funeral. She reminisced all the good times she had with her mother and closed her eyes.

"Hey."

Dawn opened her eyes and looked to her right, her eyes widening in slight shock of Paul. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and dark jeans. She stood up, unable to fathom he was here. "You came?"

"It was the least I could do," he replied, placing his hands in his jeans pockets.

"You must think I'm pathetic," she sighed.

Paul raised an eyebrow. Of all the things he had thought about her, pathetic was not one of them. Sure, he used to, but things were a bit different now. "I don't," he said, causing Dawn to look at him appalled. "Losing family hurts and I can relate to it the most."

"What do you mean?"

Paul hesitated before replying, "I lost my parents at a young age and…those times were tough. Reggie and I were devastated, and we had to learn to take care of ourselves."

Dawn never realized how fortunate she was. Despite losing her only family, she was still never truly alone. She still had her best friend giving her a roof over her head. "I didn't know that. I'm sorry."

Paul cleared his throat, before attempting to say something. "If you…erm, ever need someone to talk to…you can come to me."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Wow. I never thought I'd see the day where Paul would grow soft on me," she said, before Paul rolled his eyes.

She didn't know why, but she found herself grinning at that point. Paul felt somewhat reassured that he, of all people, could make her smile without practically any effort. To his surprise, she reached out and hugged him tightly, her eyes clenching shut.

An uncomfortable feeling surrounded him, making the plum haired male confused, but at the same time, he was pleased as he slowly snaked his arms around her waist. His stomach began to grow warm and his blood pounded against his ears.

She had no idea why she felt so much comfort in his arms; maybe it was because he felt warm? She also had no idea why his words reassured her the most, especially when he said the _least._ Whatever the reason was, she knew she felt at ease right now.

"Reggie's going to be discharged soon," he mentioned after they released.

"That's great," she smiled in response. "I'm glad he's feeling better. You must be ecstatic to know that he's coming home soon, especially after so long."

He nodded. "I am."

Dawn gave him a deadpanned look. "You don't _look_ ecstatic," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Well, then again, you only have one emotion: anger," she said a bit jokingly.

Paul ignored her words deliberately. "Hm," he said, but then his lips formed into a small smirk. "You only seem to have one emotion as well: an annoying peppy attitude," he said, his eyes filled with amusement.

Dawn gasped slightly but then lightly smiled. "Now you seem more like yourself."

Paul shrugged. "Can't help it. Insulting you is quite enjoyable."

* * *

 _ **9:30p.m.**_

Dawn was currently laying down on the couch, eyeing the bracelet with a small smile on her face. May and Max were sitting around watching TV but they couldn't help but notice Dawn was a bit quiet. Of course, they couldn't expect the blunette to just forget about the tragedy instantly, but that didn't mean they wouldn't try.

"Dawn, as your best friend, I seriously need your help!" May exclaimed suddenly, bringing Dawn away from her thoughts. Dawn raised an eyebrow in response. May looked around coherently and her eyes glanced at a fashion magazine. "I need new clothes," she said dramatically as she pointed to the magazine that she picked up. "And I have no idea what to pick, plus we all know prom is coming up."

"Prom is still a few months away, though," Max said smartly. May glared at her younger sibling as he rolled his eyes. "What's so great about prom anyway? It's just a bunch of horny teenagers dancing and acting like goofballs."

"Of course _you_ would think that," May rolled her eyes. "Boys. Come on Dawn, tell him!"

Dawn smiled. "Of course, prom is every girl's dream. That day's when all girls and maybe even guys could hope for a special night and have that special dance with a special someone. It's a big deal."

"Ugh, not you too," Max said. "Does every girl think like this?"

"Now, Max, if prom didn't exist, then you would never have been born," Caroline stated as she entered the living room.

"…You and dad did the _deed_ at-"

Caroline cut him off, "No, Max! I meant your father and I met at prom."

"Oh yeah!" May exclaimed. "I totally forgot you told us about it. Aww so romantic!"

"Wait," Dawn said, "You and Mr. Maple met at prom?" Caroline nodded. "Well, then who was your date?"

Before she could reply, Norman sat down next to his wife and put an arm around her. "It was this geeky nerd named Wilson. He was in our physics class. I still remember his awful and cheesy pickup lines he told Caroline. What a dork," he said as Dawn burst out laughing.

"He was a good kid. He asked me out for prom, so why not? You know, Norman," she said looking at her husband, "You should thank Wilson. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gone to prom that night and I never would have met you."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said.

"That is the sweetest story I have ever heard," Dawn squealed.

"Ugh," Max rolled his eyes.

Caroline and Norman both smiled. "Well kids, we're awfully tired so we're going to bed. Don't stay up too long, okay?" All three of them nodded. "And Dawn," Caroline said, "Remember if you ever need anything, you can tell us. We're practically family now."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **9:57p.m.**_

Later that evening, Paul had decided to get something he knew he would need. After a few weeks of getting jobs that paid him a decent amount of wage, he had finally got his hands on a cell phone. Of course, he never entirely needed one because he didn't keep in contact with any acquaintances that much, aside from his brother. However, now that Reggie was awake, he figured a phone would be necessary in the future to keep contact with him.

The first number he registered was Reggie's, of course. He happened to know his number by heart.

He opened his laptop and started to work on his assignments, when his eyes drifted to the new i-phone he just purchased. He briefly wondered how Dawn was doing.

Opening a new tab, he logged into his facebook account and searched for Dawn. He clicked her profile picture once he found her and then sent her a request.

He resumed working on his assignments before he realized he still needed to complete Misty's painting. It would only take about a half hour to complete according to his calculations. While painting, he played some soft soothing music that calmed his ears.

The painting was satisfactorily completed after forty-five minutes and he set it aside before going back to his laptop. He noticed he had a new notification and an unread message in his inbox.

 _Hey, I didn't know you had facebook?_ -Dawn, 10:20p.m.

He hesitated to type for a few seconds.

 _I wanted your number, so I contacted you here._ -Paul, 10:49p.m.

Dawn eyed her screen on her phone with surprise. She assumed Paul had gotten a new phone, so she quickly messaged her number and anticipated for some sort of text.

She didn't expect for him to call her.

She slightly jumped in her seat when her phone started to vibrate. May looked at Dawn expectedly. "Who's that?" she asked. Dawn simply shrugged before picking up her phone and walking out of the living room to go outside on the porch.

She slid across the 'answer' button and spoke. "Hello?"

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said, her lips forming into a smile. "You got a phone?"

"No I'm calling you using a tin can and a string," he said, sarcasm dripping at every word.

Dawn rolled her eyes and sat down on one of the chairs that was placed there. "Ha-ha," she added. "You know I wouldn't be surprised if that's what you actually used before you got a phone."

"I never really needed one," he replied.

"So why do you need one now?"

"It'd be good to keep in contact with Reggie. Plus, I finally had some good money in my hands," he explained.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, you can thank me for that. I was the one that got you your new job at the mall," she said.

"You also got me fired from my old one," he pointed out.

Dawn scoffed. "That was May, I had nothing to do with it!" she retorted. She could have sworn she heard him chuckle a bit and she swore her heart did a somersault. She had never heard Paul laugh before, let alone chuckle. It was a deep and slightly breathy, but it gave a sort of pleasure to her ears.

"Are you okay, by the way?"

She could never get used to this; the way Paul was treating her now. It was unbelievable how far they had come in their relationship. Never had she imagined that Paul would be so concerned about her as to call her up at night after he had just gotten a new phone. "I'm fine. In fact, I don't really feel sad anymore. I mean, I still feel sad, but not as much. I think having that funeral really helped me to let it all out. And May and her family are always trying to change my mood."

"Hm. Good."

"Thanks for checking up on me," she said. "It feels good to know that you don't hate me anymore and that you actually care."

Silence ensued on the line for a bit, until Paul said. "…I don't think I ever hated you. Sure, you can be annoying, but I never hated you."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or relieved," Dawn said, allowing him to let out yet _another_ chuckle, giving that soothing pleasure to her ears again.

They said nothing for a while, but there was no awkward tension. It was just a comforting silence. The blunette sat there, smiling to herself, her heart fuzzy. "Goodnight," she heard him say.

"Night," she said before she hung up.

She couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _ **I'm back after a bajillion years! Yeah I know, I'm so inconsistent with my story updates and I'm so sorry for keeping you guys. I've basically had no motivation to write these past few months and school keeps me very busy as well.**_

 _ **Anyways, hopefully you guys liked this chapter. As you can see, Paul and Dawn's relationship is starting to develop, and I am so excited! I tried very much to keep Paul in his character as well and I think I did a good job with it.**_

 _ **Thank you guys for reading and leave a review below, please**_ _ **You might get an update the more you review, who knows :P**_


	16. Trapped

_**Friday, September 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **; Lumoise Hospital; 1:33p.m.**_

Paul sat patiently, shaking his legs in anticipation, waiting for Reggie to be discharged today.

During the past two weeks, Reggie had been shifted from the ICU to the general ward, where he was assessed if he had any physical, sensory or communication problems. The only noticeable problems he had was his speech, memory and walking. The healthcare team was currently organizing a copy of his discharge summary.

Fifteen minutes had passed by excruciatingly and Paul caught sight of Dr. Francis walking towards him with a clipboard in his hand. "Paul Shinji, correct?" Paul nodded. "I just want to go through some cautionary measures for when you take Reggie home today. Ensure that the environment around him is a friendly one and try to be with him at all times. Take care of him, okay?" Paul nodded in response. "Also, just be aware that his memory is shaky at times; he doesn't remember minimal things, but he seems fine with recalling major things. This is his prescription," he said, handing a small note towards the plum-haired male.

"Thank you," said Paul after accepting the note and Dr. Francis nodded, walking away.

A few minutes later, Dr. Francis was seen walking towards Paul with Reggie beside him. Paul could notice he still had a bit of trouble walking, as he held tightly onto Francis's shoulders. Despite that, Paul probably had the most uncharacteristic smile on his face. He had been anticipating this moment for six months and to see his older brother finally able to return home was extremely satisfying.

Paul stood up, watching Reggie as his older brother brought up a weak smile.

"Take good care of him, Paul," Dr. Francis said, patting him lightly on his shoulder. Paul nodded again, and the doctor left the two boys.

"So…how have you been?" Reggie asked. Paul chuckled slightly before he reached out and hugged him tightly.

* * *

 ** _Paul's residence; 2:04p.m._**

Paul helped Reggie to get comfortable around the house again. He ended up having little to no memory of where certain things were, such as where the bathroom or bedroom was, but Paul was able to fix that.

He and Reggie didn't speak much, as he knew that Reggie was extremely fatigued, so he let his older brother sleep for some time.

It felt so reassuring that Reggie was back. He couldn't wait for things to get back to normal. He smiled, reminiscing all the pointless arguments the two would have prior to the coma. Plus, after six months of being alone in his abode, it was refreshing to have his sibling keep him company.

After Reggie had woken up from a two-hour nap, Paul walked into his room with a cup of hot chocolate. He remembered Reggie having a fond for the drink. "Drink this," he advised, setting the hot beverage on the coffee table beside the bed.

Reggie smiled in response as he took the cup in his hands and took a sip. "Thanks," he said. "Wow, hot chocolate. It's been a while since I've had this. I've been eating nothing but hospital food these past few weeks and it's gotten a bit stale."

"Understandable," said Paul.

"Let me guess…you still prefer black coffee," he said, and Paul raised his brows, surprised. His memory seemed to sharp, despite the doctor saying otherwise. "You do? You're as the same as ever," he laughed. "Anyways, what's up, Paul? How have you been these past…months?"

Paul shrugged. "I've been fine for the most part. Been keeping two jobs and managing schoolwork at the same time."

Reggie nodded, taking another sip. "Made any friends? Or do you still have trouble with that?"

"I guess I made a few friends," he said, after hesitating a bit, thinking of Drew and Dawn. He and Dawn had been texting for quite a bit and honestly, he enjoyed speaking with her. He also had gotten Drew's number and he'd been texting him as well.

Reggie grinned. "That's great! You're making progress now." Paul rolled his eyes. "What about that girl who visited me before? What was her name again?"

"Dawn," was Paul's reply. Reggie nodded. "What about her?"

"How's she been?"

Paul escaped a long sigh. "Well, when her mom died, she wasn't doing so well. But she had a funeral for her just a few weeks ago and now she's doing pretty well." Paul noticed a slight smirk on his older brother's lips. "What?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Nothing," he said, continuing to smirk. "I'm just glad that you're being more open to people."

"Whatever."

* * *

 ** _May's Residence; 6:13p.m._**

Dawn was in the living room, staring at the TV, but her mind was pre-occupied. She kept fumbling with the bracelet in her wrist and began to ponder about what was in store for her. She asked herself several questions. Where was she to go from here? What was she supposed to do now? Would she stay here at May's place forever?

Max entered the living room and sat down on one of the couches and noticed Dawn's eyes wavering a bit. "Dawn?"

"Huh?" she blinked. "Oh, hey Max, when did you get here?"

"I've been here for twenty minutes. I can't believe you didn't notice me," he said playfully. The blunette widened her eyes a bit. "Relax, I'm kidding. I just got here." Max eyed for the remote and grabbed it from the table. "You mind?" he asked but then he noticed she kept losing track of what he was saying. "Dawn!" he exclaimed.

"What?" she blinked, coming out of her thinking space.

Max chuckled. "Why do you look so lost? Is something wrong?"

Dawn contemplated sharing her feelings with a fourteen-year-old teen. Then again, Max did seem intelligent for his age. "I'm just thinking about my life and what to do from this point 'ya know? Now that my mom's gone, I just seem a bit lost. This is also my last year of high school which means next year I'm off to college. 'Course that means I'm not gonna stay here forever and I didn't plan to anyways…my point is, I don't know where to go from here."

Max raised his eyebrow, seeming a little overwhelmed. "You do know I'm fourteen, right? I'm in freshman year, Dawn! I know nothing about life yet."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Well, you asked!" she retorted.

"I didn't know it was going to be a philosophy lesson," Max countered. Dawn sighed. "I'm probably not the best person you should go to advice for. But maybe one of your friends can help. Or maybe even May, though she might not be the best person either," he said, scratching his hair sheepishly.

"What was that?" May asked, appearing into the living room with a hand on her hip. "I go into the kitchen for five minutes and you guys are talking behind my back?"

Dawn shook her head while Max smugly replied, "Please, you're not that interesting enough to talk about," he said.

"Just ignore him, May. And don't worry it's nothing really to worry about," Dawn said, assuring her. May smiled, believing Dawn and just narrowed her eyes at Max before she walked back into the kitchen.

Despite Max not giving any solid advice, Dawn began to think of what he said. Who did she know that would give her advice regarding-

And that's when it struck her.

* * *

 _ **Paul's Residence; 6:28p.m.**_

The two brothers had just finished having dinner after they had been done catching up on life. It felt satisfying to see someone at the dinner table for once than eating alone. It felt like a breath of fresh air for Paul.

Paul was doing the dishes when he heard Reggie call for him. "Paul?" he turned off the faucet and dried off his hands and approached him. He raised his eyebrow, but then he noticed a canvas in his hand. "Did you make this?" Reggie asked, pointing to the canvas.

Paul gave a light smile. "Yeah." He saw him stare at his painting of himself in awe and a bit of a shock. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? Man, this is awesome. I didn't know you could paint so well, Paul," he said, grinning. "It's amazing. I'm really impressed and flattered." Paul gave a small thanks before he said, "What other secret talents have you developed?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother, resulting in Paul rolling his eyes.

Before he could come up with a smart-ass retort, Paul's cell phone rang. "Wait…you have a phone now?" Reggie asked, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "And an I-phone too?" he said, looking at the handheld device. "Talk about-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Paul said, cutting him off, looking at the caller ID. _Dawn._ He looked Reggie and he seemed curious as to who would call him. Wanting a bit of privacy, he walked to his room, closing the door behind him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, if you have a couple minutes, I really need your advice about something," Dawn said across the phone.

Paul raised his brow, curious. "I mean I would, but I was spending the day with Reggie…" he said, though his curiosity got the best of him. And the next words that uttered from his mouth surprised Dawn and even himself. "You could come over if you want," he said.

There was a brief silence on the line. "Are you sure?" he heard her ask as if he said something bizarre.

"Yes," he said, after hesitating a bit.

"Okay…I'll be there in ten," she said.

Paul hung up and immediately he began to feel anxious of the thought of Dawn coming over. It was such a rare feeling for him. Other than Reggie, he never had anticipatory feelings for anyone. He was surprised at his own actions.

He exited out of his room and found Reggie crossing his arms at the dinner table. "What kinda private conversation are you having behind my back, Paul?" he said in a teasing manner.

Paul sighed, knowing his brother wouldn't give him the end of the day. "It was Dawn; she's coming over. She wants to talk to me about something."

Reggie was flabbergasted. He grinned excitedly at the thought of how much Paul had changed in his eyes. "I swear if I'm still in that coma then don't wake me up," he joked. Paul groaned internally. Reggie noticed his frustrated look. "Hey," he said walking up to him and patting his shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with inviting a friend over. You said you're making friends and that's good for someone like you. It's not always good to be alone."

Paul had been alone for majority of his life. It was the major reason he was an introvert and a loner. He said nothing as he just kept his hands in his pockets and sighed.

* * *

There was a light knocking on the door after a few minutes and the two were currently sitting on the couch. The younger plume haired male walked towards the door and opened it, revealing the blunette.

Dawn gave him a light smile while pushing her short blue strands behind her hair. "Hey," she said, eyeing at Paul who just nodded choosing not to say anything. She entered Paul's abode for the second time and her eyes lit up when she saw Reggie on the couch. "Reggie!" she exclaimed.

Reggie stood up giving her a grin. "Dawn!" he exclaimed in excitement and reached out to hug her. "So nice to finally meet you out of the hospital," he said, resulting in Dawn giggling.

"And you certainly look a lot better too!" Dawn said. "I'm glad."

Reggie nodded. "So what brings you here, Dawn?" he asked.

Dawn had completely forgotten why she came here until Reggie brought it up. "Oh, I'm here to talk to Paul about something," she said, glancing towards him. "It's kind of important," she added.

"I see," Reggie said. The two remained quiet and he interpreted that to be a sign to leave. "Well, I'll leave so you guys can talk," he announced before walking away into what Dawn assumed to be his room.

Dawn looked at Paul remarkably. "I still can't believe that Reggie is your brother. You and he are so different, like polar opposites," she said.

Paul raised an eyebrow. "You came here just to deny the fact that he's my brother?" he said flatly as Dawn rolled her eyes in response and shook her head.

Dawn sat down on the couch and the plum haired male sat next to her. "I'm at a point in life where I don't know where to go. I feel lost, especially without my mom around," she started after escaping a sigh. "I think I was so dependent on my mom that I feel like I can't do anything without her. Right now, I'm living with May fortunately, but what about after that? I can't live with them forever. I just…I just don't know what to do right now," she confessed, pressing two fingers to her forehead.

Paul knew exactly how she was feeling. She probably had no idea how much he related to this topic. He looked at her. "I understand," he said. "When Reggie was sick, I felt at crossroads multiple times. I felt confused and undecisive of where to head from there. But at that time, I learned to be independent, or at least I tried to," he explained.

Dawn raised her eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I got a job," Paul said. "I knew that if I had to live out on my own, I had to make money, so I could pay rent, have a decent meal and do schoolwork all at the same time. And I still plan to," he said.

Dawn never realized how tough life had been for Paul. Sure, she may have lost her mother, but she had so many support for her along the way that she never had a chance to feel alone. And even when she felt depressed, her friends were always there to rekindle her spirits. However, Paul had to struggle alone during his tough days. "So what do you think I should do? Get a job?"

Paul contemplated for a bit. "You honestly don't need one, given you're living with your friend. But if you ever wanna step out of that household then I would suggest getting a decent paying job. It'll help you get started on your feet."

Dawn smiled. "Yeah. Plus, I could save up for college." She added.

Paul nodded. "Let me guess, you're going to major in fashion or something," he said, narrowing his eyes.

Dawn laughed. "I actually don't know what I'm going to major. I don't even know what college I'm going to. I'll do some thinking though," she said, and Paul nodded in response.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Dawn awkwardly got up and said, "Well, I should be going now," she said, but stopped walking when her wrist was caught. She looked back at Paul in slight shock and he had a similar expression on his face as well.

Paul stood up, not letting go of her wrist as Dawn watched silently confused. He cleared his throat. "You don't have to leave…I mean, if…if you don't want to," he said. He felt nervous for some reason but anticipated for her to say something.

Dawn's slightly shocked expression finally relaxed, and she formed a small light smile. "Sure, I guess I could stay," she said.

* * *

The three of them sat silently on the couch as the movie played on the screen. There was a bowl of popcorn at the table that was half-empty and a few opened cans of sodas.

Never would have Dawn imagined to be sitting next to Paul and his brother watching a movie at their place. Paul had really surprised her when he told her to stay for a few more hours. It gave Dawn a great feeling of how much he cared about her. To think when they first met, she loathed him but after getting to know him a little more, she understood and related to him on a whole new level.

She didn't realize she was staring at Paul until he glanced in her direction, causing her to look away, her cheeks reddening in the process. Unbeknownst to both Paul and Dawn, Reggie watched the two with a small smile on his face.

The movie played for about twenty minutes and Dawn began to feel drowsy. Her eyes kept closing and despite her efforts to stay awake, her fatigue took over and her eyes shut.

Paul's eyes widened slightly when the blunette's head fell over his shoulder. Paul was about to do something when he noticed she started snoring slightly. Despite the obnoxious sounds, he couldn't help but to notice how peaceful and innocent she looked.

Reggie looked at Paul. "Oh, poor thing, she must be tired," he said, noticing Dawn on his shoulder.

"Should I wake her?"

Reggie looked at Paul with deadpanned eyes. "No, obviously not. Why don't you just carefully lie her down on the sofa without waking her up?" he suggested.

Paul nodded as he slowly and slightly gripped Dawn's shoulders and proceeded to get up, careful not to wake her up. Her head was removed from his shoulder and was now on the couch with her legs propped up on the couch as she came into a lying position.

Reggie took the bowl of popcorn in his hands. "I'll get her a blanket…where do you keep those again?" he asked.

"I'll get it," Paul decided before Reggie could retort as the young plum haired male walked away.

* * *

The petrifying thundering on the rooftop made the blunette jump awake. She escaped several large breaths before she looked around, realizing she was still at Paul's place. Slightly stressed, she looked at her phone and when she realized it was almost three in the morning, she cursed to herself. She also had a couple of messages from May asking about her whereabouts.

She removed herself from the blanket and stood up, briefly wondering if she could go home. She saw a window across from the living room and looked outside briefly. It was raining heavily, and lightning flashed right before her eyes.

"Dawn?"

The blunette turned around, as the lights were turned on, revealing Reggie. "I bet the thunder woke you up didn't it?" he asked. Dawn nodded. "You fell asleep so we just decided to let you be and bail the movie."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I wasn't supposed to be here all night. I should have gone home when I had the chance."

Reggie waved her a hand of dismissal. "Don't worry. I don't think you can go home in this weather anyway. You might as well just stay the night."

Dawn was a bit sceptical. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive. In fact, you can sleep in the guest room…wait, on second thought, I don't think we have a guest room. And sleeping on the couch is terrible."

"I can make do with the couch; no need to worry," Dawn said.

"Hell no!" Reggie exclaimed. "You know what? I'll sleep on the couch and you can sleep in my room." He suggested.

"Like hell you are," Paul said approaching the two from behind. "You literally got out of the hospital today. I can't risk you having back problems in the morning."

Reggie turned to face him. "Okay well what about Dawn? Where is she going to sleep?"

Dawn felt like she was intruding. "Guys, I said it before. I'm fine with sleeping on the couch," she repeated.

Paul looked at her suspiciously. "No you aren't," he said decisively. Dawn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Since there are only two rooms in this house, I'll let you sleep in my room while I sleep in Reggie's room."

Dawn's jaw dropped slightly. She wasn't sure she would like to be in Paul's room and she was a bit surprised he made that offer. "But-"

"Perfect!" Reggie exclaimed. "Then no one will have to sleep on the couch," he said, as he escaped a yawn. "Well, goodnight, Dawn," he said before leaving the living room.

Dawn bit her lip, nervous of the idea of sleeping in someone's room, especially Paul's. To anyone else, it would not have been a big deal, but the thought of her just intruding someone's privacy was a bit disrespectful in her opinion.

"Paul you don't have to-"

"Must you argue with everything I say?" Paul cut her off. "If you think I'm letting you sleep on the couch…" he trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. Dawn stayed silent. Paul turned his back against her and said, "I hope you don't take ages to come to the room," he said flatly before walking to his room.

Dawn sighed, accepting defeat.

* * *

Paul's room was not what Dawn had expected.

It seemed a bit colourful than she anticipated. There were framed pictures of Reggie on the wall, along with what she assumed to be their parents. A dark brown coffee table was sitting beside the small bed. Light violet drapes were placed on the wall in front of the window. There was also a bookshelf stacked with books across from the foot of the bed, probably filled with Paul's favourite books.

Paul looked at her. "Try not to destroy the room," he said, a light smirk on his lips.

Dawn rolled her eyes and then she realized she needed sleeping wear. "I don't have anything to wear," she said. "You think you have something I could borrow?" she asked a bit shyly.

Paul walked to his closet and rummaged through it, doubting he would have anything. All he had were sweater vests, shirts and pants. He glanced at Dawn and figured a long shirt would do for now. "Here," he said, handing the shirt to her.

She looked at it as if it was trash. "I'm not wearing that!" she exclaimed.

"Well excuse me for not having a girly dress or something," Paul retorted.

Dawn shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean…that's your shirt. Would that even fit me?" she asked and as a result, she found Paul eyeing her up and down. Of course, he probably didn't mean to check her out, but that didn't mean she didn't blush.

"It'll fit like a nightgown. Just wear it. And don't worry, I'll burn it afterwards," he smirked as he tossed the shirt towards her as she caught it quickly.

Dawn pressed her lips into a thin line and sighed. "Okay," she said.

Paul turned his back against her and was about to leave his room.

"Thanks, Paul," she said.

"Goodnight," was Paul's reply before he shut the door behind him.

* * *

 _ **Don't question the early update. Enjoy it!**_

 _ **Not much to say except leave a review if ya like! And drop that like and hit the subscribe bu-oh wait that's youtube…**_

 _ **See ya next time!**_


	17. Confused

_**Monday, October 5th; May's Residence; 7:26 a.m.**_

May was in the kitchen, grabbing breakfast as she poured some corn flakes into her bowl and then added milk afterwards. Her parents had just left for work, so she was sitting in the kitchen table alone waiting for Dawn and Max to get up. While crunching on her cereal, she looked at her phone for a brief second before a text popped in, resulting in her widening her eyes.

Her heart started beating out of fear and her hand trembled a bit, resulting in the spoon to drop and make contact with the glass bowl, making a sound 'CLANK' noise.

Dawn, who was walking downstairs, heard the loud and abrupt noise and walked to the kitchen, where she spotted her brunette friend with a worried and hyperventilated expression on her face. "Hey, what happened, May?" she asked with a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

May stood up from the kitchen table and shook her head slowly. "No," she said vaguely before she picked up her phone from the table and showed the text to Dawn. "He's…back, Dawn. He's back!" she cried. "And he wants to talk!"

Dawn eyed the text with wide dinner plates. "Okay, I know this seems bad, but no need to worry, May. Just block Brendan. You don't have to talk to him. I wouldn't if I were you."

May sighed and nodded but then eyed her cryptically. "How does he even have my number? I changed it," she said. Dawn shrugged. "Yeah, I have to block him immediately," she decided, reaching for her phone and typing on it. After a few seconds, she sighed a breath of relief. "Okay, it's done," she said, resuming back to her seat and eating her cereal.

Dawn didn't like seeing her friend distraught and worried. The blunette sat across from her. "Don't worry May, I'm sure nothing's going to happen." May still seemed worried so Dawn tried to divert the topic. "Well anyways, do you remember last week when I slept over at Paul's place?" May nodded. "Well, I forgot to give his shirt back and I can't find it anywhere. Have you seen it?"

May thought about it for a second before the two heard another voice reply. "Are you talking about this shirt?" Both the girls looked towards the left where Max was as he held the shirt in his hand, but Dawn looked at it in awe when she realized it was stained.

"How'd it get stained?!" she exclaimed.

Max chuckled sheepishly. "I, uhh, thought it was my shirt but after I put it on it obviously wasn't. Anyways I was too lazy to take it off and was eating and spilled some soup on it. Sorry," he said.

May rolled her eyes. "Okay, I guess we could wash it," she said.

"Hopefully Paul won't blow his top off," Dawn said in a joking manner.

May gave her a look. "Why would he? The guy let you sleep over, Dawn! Paul, out of all people, is actually friends with you. I don't see him getting mad over this," she said, giggling. "I can't believe you two are friends, to be honest. Next thing 'ya know, you guys are going to be a couple."

Dawn's cheeks burned instantaneously. "That's ridiculous. We don't even have feelings for each other," she defended but May's lips curled into a smirk.

"Is there ever a morning where there's no girl talk?" Max commented dryly while walking over to grab the cereal.

* * *

 _ **Lumoise High School; 8:06 a.m.**_

Leaf was taking out her books from her locker, unable to take off her grin from her face. Her date with Gary was this Saturday and it was safe to say she was very excited and looking forward to it.

She laughed ironically at herself, thinking if she had ever gone out with Gary in the past, she'd probably slap herself silly. It was unbelievable that all these years she had a strong dislike for the spiky haired male, but things were undoubtedly different now. She had a misunderstanding about him all this while not realizing she harboured feelings for him.

When she closed her locker, her heart nearly jumped when she saw Gary standing in front of her. "Don't do that!" she exclaimed, pushing against his chest lightly, resulting him to chuckle lightly. "Now that my heart is functioning normally, what's up?" she asked.

Gary helped her with her books before he spoke. "I know I said I would keep the date a surprise, but I felt like you should know just in case." Leaf's eyes sparkled with excitement. "It's Daisy's birthday party this Saturday and I was going to take you there…are you okay with that?"

Leaf cocked her head slightly. "A party on the first date? That's something I would never guess."

Gary nodded. "Yeah, but if you wanna go somewhere else, I'm totally fine with that."

Leaf shook her head. "I love parties! I'm practically a social butterfly," she said. "It should be fun," she continued.

Gary smiled. "Good," he said before he caressed her right cheek and started to lean in. Leaf's eyes slightly widened, and her breath hitched when she realized what he was doing.

The sound of the bell spilt the two apart resulting in Leaf catching her breath again and trying to hide her blush that had appeared. Gary smirked slightly. "Saved by the bell, Leafy," he said, and this time caught Leaf's blush. "I'll see you after school."

Leaf shook her head in amusement before walking to her chemistry class.

* * *

 _ **10:32a.m.**_

Paul was in art class, attempting to paint something for the umpteenth time that he had to hand in by the end of the class. Painting for him was very easy in his opinion, the difficult part was thinking of something creative to paint on a blank canvas. He had painted nearly everything so far before and he was running out of ideas.

"Hey Paul," a voice said beside him and he didn't look towards the voice, but he recognized it. "How's it going?" Misty asked. "I just wanted to ask you if you finished the painting for this Saturday."

He was forced to make eye contact with Misty. "It's done," he replied simply before he resumed painting. He was attempting to paint a dark cave after he had done some deep thinking.

"Great, thanks so much! So, will you be there at the party? I invited you, remember?" she said.

Paul glanced at her. "I don't really do parties," he said before he looked at the canvas again, not seeing Misty frown in disappointment.

The class ended after twenty minutes and Paul felt satisfied as usual, handing in something he was proud of. He walked away without saying a word to Misty, unbeknownst to her disappointed expression.

She walked outside where Ash was waiting for her. "Oh no, you've got that look again…" he said, recognizing her expression. "What's wrong?"

She sighed in exasperation and flailed her arms in the air. "Everything! Everything's wrong! I just wish Paul would open his eyes for once and realize that I like him," she said. "I guess it's going to be harder than I thought."

Ash eyed her cryptically. "Does Paul even return your feelings? I mean, is it really worth it?" he asked. "Paul's not the type of guy for you, Misty," he said, scratching his head sheepishly.

Misty looked at him with daggers in her eyes. "You don't know that!" she protested. "And I'm sure Paul would like me back if he actually spent some time with me, 'ya know? But he doesn't hang out with anyone."

Ash thought about Paul's supposed friends for a moment before he said, "Actually, he's pretty close with Dawn and Drew. Drew mentioned how they've been texting recently."

Misty's green emerald eyes widened. "What? Paul has a phone and he didn't give me his number! Ugh!" she stomped her foot in slight anger before cooling herself off. "Okay, whatever," she said, causing Ash to chuckle. She thought about what Ash said. "So…Dawn and Drew huh? Who do you think is closer with Paul?"

Ash shrugged. "I'd say Dawn, maybe."

Misty nodded before she began to think of a brilliantly formed plan. "Perfect! Where's Dawn?"

* * *

 _ **11:13 a.m.**_

Dawn sighed, feeling overwhelmed with the new information she had just received from her calculus class. She picked up her backpack, feeling a bit fatigued, before walking outside, where she saw Misty and raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey," Dawn said, breaking the silence. "What's up?" she asked.

Misty walked towards her. "I need to talk to you about something…or _someone_ , to be more specific," she said. "And you're probably the best person to talk to."

Dawn was extremely curious. "Sure, go ahead."

Misty smiled. "Okay. How do I start?" she asked herself. "Okay, well how close would you say you are with Paul?" she asked, cocking her head in the process.

That question had caught her off guard a bit. "Uh, I guess we're kind of close? Why do you ask?" she asked.

Misty sheepishly smiled before she responded, "Well, because, I have a crush on him." Dawn parted her lips in surprise. That was something she did _not_ expect, not in a million years. "And since you know him the best and you're close to him and all, I was wondering if you could convince him to go to my sister's birthday this weekend. I asked him myself, but he refused. I'm sure you could convince him!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Now Dawn was extremely overwhelmed. For some unknown reason, she didn't like the idea of Misty liking Paul and she had no idea why. She felt uncomfortable knowing that. "Uh…I don't know…" she said hesitantly.

"Oh, please!" she begged. "I really want him to come to the birthday party."

"Why?" she asked.

Misty formed a small blush on her cheeks. "I'm planning to confess, actually. I really want him to know my feelings and all," she said. "Just convince him to come and I'll be really grateful, Dawn!"

Dawn didn't understand why she was against the idea of Misty having a crush on Paul and wanting to form a relationship with him. She had no right to declare Paul's dating choice. However, an uncomfortable feeling still surfaced in her stomach and part of her wanted to refuse Misty, but she knew she'd be selfish by doing so. "Okay. I guess I could convince him. I'm meeting with him soon, so I'll talk to him," she said, and an immediate feeling of regret washed over her, making her completely confused why she was feeling this way.

Misty grinned. "Thanks so much, Dawn! You're the best! Oh, and you're invited too, okay? Again, thanks so much! I can't wait!" she squealed before walking away, leaving Dawn alone with her confused inner thoughts.

* * *

 _ **4:33 p.m.**_

The blunette sat across from Paul, looking at her notebook, biting her pencil in the process, still in deep thought about what Misty said. She was utterly confused on why she was so hesitant to tell Paul. Nothing was wrong with a girl taking interest in Paul. She sighed to herself.

Paul eyed her, raising his eyebrow at her expression. "What? Those problems aren't going to do themselves," he said, bringing her out of her thought process.

Dawn immediately removed her pencil from her mouth. "Sorry," she said before she began scribbling in her notebook. But then she stopped writing before she thought about Misty's words again. Maybe she was being ridiculous. Why did she care if Misty took an interest in Paul? If anything, she should have been encouraging it. Dawn looked at Paul and cleared her throat. "Are you doing anything this weekend?" she asked.

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Working. Why?"

"Take a day off," she commanded, and Paul huffed. "I want you to come to Daisy's birthday party."

Paul rolled his eyes. "I said it before and I'll say it again: I don't do parties," he said.

Dawn immediately retorted. "It could be a lot of fun! Don't you ever wanna do something fun in life, Paul?" she asked.

"Fun is different for everyone. I'm perfectly fine not going to that party and still having no regrets," he said. "Back to those problems now," he ordered, eyeing towards the notebook. He took out his phone before Dawn got an idea.

She snatched his phone away from him while Paul looked at her as if she was completely loony. "You're not getting this back 'till you agree to come to that party," she said satisfactorily.

But all Paul did was cross his arms and let out a small smirk. "I've been without a phone since a while. You really think that's going to convince me?" he asked. Dawn just blinked in response and sighed. "Try something else, why don't you?" Dawn handed his phone back, defeated. "Why do you even want me at the party?"

Dawn wasn't sure how to answer. "Misty invited me, and she said I could bring someone, so…why not?" she lied.

"Hn," Paul said, uncrossing his arms. He looked at her notebook again and then glanced at her. "If you get all those problems correct, then…I'll go."

Dawn's eyes gleamed. "Really?" she asked, and Paul nodded before she grinned in excitement. Her grin slowly turned into a frown as she realized she had a load of problems to solve. "But there are like fifty of these!" she exclaimed in worry.

Paul smirked again. "Good luck," he said before opening a book he had found.

After about an hour or so, Paul had read practically half the book when Dawn announced she was finished. She handed over the problems for him to see and after about five to ten minutes of inspecting them, he realized that they were all right and he would have to hold up to the end of his bargain.

Dawn eyed him expectedly. "So? Did I get all correct?"

Paul sighed. "Yeah."

Dawn grinned widely, resulting in Paul to let out a small smile as well. "Yes! Now you _have_ to come."

"Don't expect me to enjoy it, though," he said, after standing up from his seat, taking the book along with him.

"You will if I'm there," she winked before also standing up and placing her bookbag on her shoulder. "So…what are you doing now?" she asked.

Paul had no idea why it was unbelievably easy to talk to her and just tell her everything, something he'd rarely do. It was out of character for him but for some reason, he didn't mind. If he had to admit, he felt satisfied seeing her smile. "Working for the rest of the night."

Dawn nodded. "Right. Well…I'll see ya around," she said, before leaving him alone.

* * *

 _ **Saturday, October 10th; Misty's Residence; 6:47 a.m.**_

"Happy birthday, Daisy!"

The blonde was woken very abruptly on a Saturday morning and resulted in her nearly falling off the bed. The carrot top sheepishly smiled as she watched her sister glare at her. "Seriously, Misty?" she looked at the clock. "It's not even seven in the morning yet, lemme sleep," she said, escaping a yawn as she placed the covers over her head.

"Sorry, I wanted to be the first one to wish you before Vi did," Misty confessed. "Plus, we're going to be planning your birthday party, so we could use some help," she added.

Before the blonde twenty-five-year-old could respond, Violet walked in and intruded in the conversation. "Misty, leave her alone. You and I can set up the party. Besides she's been working all week and I'm pretty sure she's tired," she said, and Daisy nodded.

"Oh, and make sure you invite all my friends," Daisy reminded them, forgetting about her need for sleep for a second. "I can't wait to update my facebook profile picture later!" she said as Misty rolled her eyes.

It was no doubt that Misty was the odd one within the trio of sisters. Her sisters would make fun of her for her tomboyish nature and compare her to other girls, but Misty was aware they loved her a lot. Misty obviously loved them despite their constant arguing which was why she wanted to celebrate her sister's birthday in a special way.

Misty looked at her other older sister. "Okay, Vi, let's get to work then," she said before Violet grinned and nodded.

* * *

 _ **May's Residence; 3:34 p.m.**_

Dawn looked in the mirror, glancing at her outfit. She was wearing a light pink sleeveless top along with a black skirt with a chained red belt that enclosed her waist. To complete the outfit, she wore white boots that nearly stretched up to her knees. Her hair had been let loose as always but her bangs were curled to provide a subtle change.

"Are you ready May?" Dawn asked, while she placed a bit of lip gloss on her lips.

Her yelling was heard from the bathroom. "Coming!" May said. After a few minutes, the door opened, and May stepped outside, grinning. "What do you think?"

May wore a sleeveless pink dress covered with a white coat that ended up to her knees. A headband was placed on her brown hair that had been let loose. Her black flats complimented her dress along with the pink choker across her neck.

"I love it! You look so hot!" Dawn exclaimed, giggling.

"Aw, thanks," the brunette blushed. "I'm so glad you invited me. I haven't been to a party in ages." Dawn nodded in understanding. "Though I've never met Daisy, have you?"

Dawn shook her head while she grabbed her purse. "No, but Misty invited me and I'm pretty sure she's nice," she said. Dawn looked at her watch on her wrist. "Let's get going, May, we have to be there soon," she said.

May nodded. "Right," she said, grabbing her car keys from her bedside table.

The two walked outside after bidding goodbye to May's parents and made their way to May's vehicle. Dawn watched as May unlocked her car when the blunette realized she hadn't driven in a while. "Hey, you mind if I drive?" she asked.

May looked at Dawn, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't drive," she said, remembering all the times she asked for rides.

"No, I _can_ drive, I have my license and everything. I've just never had a car." Dawn explained.

May nodded in understanding. "That makes so much sense. Here, you can drive," she said, handing over her the car keys and Dawn grinned before she made her way to the driver's seat.

Dawn initiated the ignition once May sat beside her and started to drive after she turned on the stereo that was currently playing music. As the car was in acceleration, May looked at Dawn. "Leaf was invited to the party too, right?"

Dawn nodded, not taking her eyes off the road. "Yep. She told me that Gary's taking her to the party as their first date."

May laughed. "How exciting!"

The two then began to sing obnoxiously loud to their favourite songs that were currently playing and the two started laughing uncontrollably. Dawn closed her eyes for a brief second to control her laughter due to their awful singing before she opened it and gasped. The car was headed straight for a tall man who was crossing the road. Their laughter was instantly ceased once Dawn stepped on the brakes and the car stopped with a screech.

Dawn had to catch her breath before the two stepped out of the vehicle and walked up towards the man. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorr-" she stopped herself short when the man was someone she recognized once she got a closer look. "Reggie?"

May looked at Dawn. "Reggie?"

"Paul's older brother," she clarified, and May gasped.

Reggie seemed unharmed though and just sheepishly smiled. "Relax, I'm fine. You didn't hit me," he said.

Dawn sighed a breath of relief, but she still didn't like the fact that she had almost caused an accident. "I'm so glad you're alright. Who knows what would have happened if I had-"

Reggie waved her a hand of dismissal. "Accidents happen, Dawn. It's a good thing you pressed the brakes when you did."

"We're really sorry," May said. "It's both of our faults, we were just goofing off and Dawn didn't realize what she was doing."

Reggie smiled. "No worries. It's fine. I'm not going into a coma any time soon, I'm sure," he joked but the two still felt guilty for what had nearly happened. Reggie tried to change the topic. "Are you two going to Daisy's party?" he asked, noticing their outfits. "I think Paul's there already. Speaking of which, why is he going to a party anyway? Doesn't seem like him. I was shocked."

Dawn smiled knowingly. "Well, I asked him to go…though it took a bit convincing," she said. Reggie nodded in realization. Dawn sighed. "Speaking of Paul…would you mind _not_ mentioning this little incident? I wouldn't want him to get mad."

Reggie chuckled. "I hear 'ya. Don't worry Dawn, your secret's safe with me." Dawn smiled. "Well you girls should get going, you don't wanna be late, do you?"

"Right," May said before Reggie waved the two girls goodbye.

Dawn glanced at May before the two sat in the vehicle again. Dawn still kept flashbacking to what had nearly happened and felt extremely guilty. If she hadn't pressed the brakes on time, then Reggie would have ended up in the hospital again.

"Are you sure _that_ 's Paul's brother? They seem so different!" May exclaimed in slight shock and all Dawn could do was giggle. "Seriously, it's like sunshine and darkness together," she said.

Dawn shook her head in slight amusement before she started the vehicle again, but this time, the car ride was silent.

* * *

Paul was seated awkwardly on one of the couches in Misty's place with a drink in his hand. He was wearing a purple shirt covered with a black jacket and dark jeans that he had bought a few hours ago from the very mall he was working at.

Loud music was echoing, and the beat was enjoyable, but only for a bit, and it kept penetrating his eardrums. Some wine glasses and bottles were kept aside in a separate table at the side, for which he assumed were for Daisy and her friends. The room was lit darkly solely with the large disco ball hanging from the near celling illuminating colourful lights of red, yellow, green and purple.

When he had arrived fifteen minutes ago, he noticed he was extremely early for some bizarre reason (or everyone was late); no one was here apart from Misty and her sisters. He had wished Daisy before he had handed her present, which undoubtedly was the painting that he had done for Misty a couple weeks ago.

There was a reason Paul didn't do parties. Actually, there were several reasons. He would always find himself alone in some corner due to the reason that he didn't prefer to socialize with anyone. Also, most parties were filled with annoying and disgusting kids that were drunk and wild. It didn't fit in with Paul, especially since he didn't drink. Sure, he had tasted a few drinks when he was a bit younger, but he had never gotten drunk and would never willingly.

Hence, he was surprised he was here. Was it because Dawn had pleaded him to go? Sure, he had refused at first, but it didn't take a lot of effort from her to convince him. Even Misty had asked him, and he wouldn't budge. Why was it a different scenario with Dawn?

Paul just took a sip of his soda, unable to find an answer.

After a few minutes, he could notice Daisy opening the door, as more and more people entered her abode. He didn't recognize any of them; he assumed they were college or work associated friends. Then again, he probably wouldn't recognize them even if they went to the same school.

Soon enough, people began piling up within the house and it was then that he recognized some people from school (surprisingly) and he saw Ash, Drew, Gary and another girl who he couldn't put a name towards. Drew made eye contact with Paul and waved, and he acknowledged him with a nod.

The group walked to where Paul was seated. "Glad to see you here, Paul," Drew said. "It's a bit surprising but still nice, nonetheless," he continued, grinning.

Paul rolled his eyes, but he couldn't really blame him. "Hn," he said, resulting in the group to laugh.

"What's that you're drinking?" Gary asked. "Soda?" Paul nodded in response. "Cool. Hey, do you want anything, Leaf?" he asked his partner beside him.

"Just water, thanks," Leaf said. Gary nodded before he walked over to where they were serving drinks, with Leaf following him from behind.

Before anyone could say anything else, Misty came up to the trio and hugged them tightly. "Thanks so much for coming guys!" she said excitedly.

Ash grinned. "Of course. Who would refuse coming to this party?" he asked rhetorically. Paul just averted his eyes and continued sipping his drink. "By the way, this party looks so awesome. Where's Daisy? I gotta wish her a happy birthday."

Misty giggled before she took Ash to talk to her older sister somewhere in a different corner. Instead of Drew following them, he decided to sit beside Paul and initiate a conversation with him. "Have you seen May or Dawn around? I thought they'd be here by now."

Surprisingly, Paul thought the same and he shook his head. "No, I don't have any idea." He found himself looking at his phone and contemplating whether to text Dawn or not.

But then, he saw Misty open the door and hugging two familiar girls before the two entered inside.

For some reason, Paul couldn't notice anyone else but Dawn. It was now that he noticed her in a completely different light. Her wide and enchanting smile got his attention, along with the outfit she was wearing. He had never noticed Dawn this way before. Sure, she had always dressed decent enough, but it was somewhat different tonight. She looked…good.

Paul wavered his eyes a bit, trying to drift his thoughts away.

He glanced at Drew, who he found was staring as well. But it wasn't at Dawn he was staring at.

Dawn eyed around the room, looking for Paul, when she spotted him seated on the couch. She grinned and waved to him and Paul raised his hand, not seeming to take his eyes off of her. Before she could walk towards him, Daisy approached her.

"Hi, thanks so much for coming!" she said, hugging the blunette tightly and then reaching out to hug the brunette.

The two girls giggled. "No problem, Daisy. Happy birthday!" Dawn said. "By the way, this is May, she's a really good friend of mine."

Daisy looked towards May. "Hi," May said. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks so much!" Daisy said. "We're gonna start dancing and playing some friendly games so make sure you participate, alright?"

Dawn laughed. "For sure!"

Drew saw Daisy walk away from the two girls and he stood up from where he was sitting and walked up to the two girls. He looked at May in awe. "You look beautiful, May," he said bluntly and May smiled shyly. "You look great too, Dawn," he said, looking at Dawn, who just smiled.

"Thanks," she said, slightly smirking at the way the chartreuse headed male couldn't keep his eyes off of May. "Well, I'll just go get a drink and I'll let you two chat," she said but had caught May's widened eyes. Dawn just grinned mischievously before walking away.

Dawn poured herself a cup of soda as she watched Drew trying to flirt with May, who she was guessing to be rolling her eyes and not giving in as usual. She shook her head in amusement and her smile slowly ceased when she saw Paul walk towards her.

"Hey," she said. "How are you enjoying your first party?" she asked.

Paul just placed his hands in his pockets and that was when Dawn noticed what he was wearing. She could smell a bit of cologne. "I'm actually not enjoying it just like I expected."

Dawn frowned, as she brought the plastic cup to her lips, taking a sip. She was aware why, but the whole reason why she brought Paul to the party in the first place was because Misty asked her to. "Yeah, sorry. But maybe this party will get you to be…more social?" she said hopefully.

He gave her a knowing look. "You know I don't like being social."

Dawn sighed and nodded in understanding. She briefly wondered why he agreed to her. "Then why did you come?"

Paul couldn't find an answer to her question and it seemed he didn't need to. The two were then directed over to the attention of Daisy, who was standing in the center of the room, with a mic in her hand.

"Hi everyone, how are ya'll doing tonight?!" she screamed into the mic, which resulted in everyone cheering loudly as they raised their drinks proudly in the air. "Again, thank you all so much for coming to celebrate my birthday. I guarantee it's going to be a lot of fun."

Violet, who was standing next to her, also spoke. "And to commence the night of fun, we're going to play a little game that everyone probably knows and that is: Heads Up! It's one of Daisy's favourite games so download the game right now if you don't have it."

After a few minutes of people downloading the game, Violet began to explain the instructions. "Okay, we'll all split into two different teams: Team A and Team B. It doesn't matter who's in what team, there should just be an equal amount. The goal of the game is, as I'm sure you all know, to give clues to Daisy on what the word is. But one member of the team will give clues per word. For example, I would give clues until Daisy figures the word and then the next person and so on. The team that gets Daisy to guess the most words wins! Everybody understand?"

"So who gets to go first and stuff? How do we decide?" Gary asked.

"You'll decide that in your teams. You can also decide who goes second and all that jazz. Any more questions?" Violet asked and the room was silent.

Two teams were formed eventually, and one team consisted of Misty, Paul, Leaf, Dawn, Drew along with a few of Daisy's friends. The other team consisted of Gary, May, Ash and a few others as well.

It was declared that Leaf would go first from the first team. Daisy sat in a chair with Leaf in front as Daisy kept the phone above her head. Leaf noticed that the category was animals. The clock commenced and the first word was: ostrich.

"Uh, this is a bird that has a long neck and sticks its head into the ground-"

"Ostrich?"

Leaf nodded and Daisy lowered the phone a bit, signalling for the next word and for the next person to give a clue.

It was Misty's turn to give the clues once she saw the word, which happened to be: snake.

"Okay this has no arms or legs and they like to…slither around?" Misty noticed her sister was clueless and there was twenty-three seconds on the clock. "They can bite and they're very poisonous!" she added.

"Snake!" Daisy said, grinning and Misty nodded.

This repeated for about half an hour until the final points were added and the winner was declared. It was a very close game with the first team achieving six points and the second team winning by just one point. The second team was awarded with a large gift basket.

"Okay, congratulations, guys! Now you guys are free to eat and maybe dance around a bit so don't be shy otherwise all the food will be finished before you can get any," Violet said.

* * *

Gary managed to catch Leaf, who was currently talking to someone on the phone. Once she hung up, she turned around, smiling. "You having fun?"

Leaf had to admit; this party was pretty enjoyable so far, but she realized that this wasn't a suitable first date at all. She would have preferred if they would just do something alone together. "Well…yeah. It's just that, I don't feel like this is a date. It's more of a…hangout? I don't know exactly how to describe it. It just doesn't feel like a date. But, I'm still having fun."

Gary parted his lips in realization. "Oh…shit, I messed up."

Leaf quickly retorted. "No, no no, not at all, Gary. I'm having so much fun. I just feel like a date should be spent alone y'know?"

Gary nodded in understanding. She did have a point. He then listened to the music change and that was when he got an idea. "Well…do you wanna dance?" he asked, bringing out his hand, looking at her hopefully.

Leaf smiled shyly and accepted his hand. "Sure," she said. Gary's smile deepened as he took her to the center of the room.

* * *

May was currently eating a slice of pizza when she suddenly Drew walking up towards her. She quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin. He sat on one of the stools next to her and glanced at her, who was suddenly feeling self-conscious. Drew never understood why she would always retract away from her.

"May, do you hate me?" he asked, catching May off guard.

May blinked, unsure of how to answer the question. "What? No, of course not."

"Then why do you always flinch when I'm near you or try to touch you? I..I'm not going to hurt you…if that's what you're thinking," he confessed. May seemed surprised at how forward Drew was being.

May sighed and looked down. "It has nothing to do with you, don't worry."

Drew smirked. "Well of course not, I'm amazing," he said, flipping his green hair in the process. May rolled her eyes at his ego, causing him to laugh. "Joking aside, what's the reason then?"

May didn't feel comfortable sharing her past with someone like Drew. She didn't even know him that well. The only persons who knew about her past were Dawn and Leaf. She didn't feel the need to share this with anyone else unless they were truly important in her life. "You don't need to know," she said, looking at the other slice of pizza instead.

Drew mentally groaned. How was he supposed to get to know this girl if she didn't allow him to know about her? "So…I'm assuming you wouldn't wanna dance with me?" he asked.

May sighed. "I can dance…as long as you don't touch me," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Drew raised an eyebrow. He wondered what she meant by that. Regardless, he respected her wishes as he led her to the center.

* * *

Ash watched as everyone had made it to the center of the room and were dancing together. He could notice some people starting to grind against each other and he rolled his eyes, expecting this. He looked around for Misty and spotted her a distance away from Paul.

He walked towards her. "Hey Mist."

Misty's green eyes sparkled. "Hey Ash! So…I'm really nervous right now. I want to confess to Paul."

Ash's eyes slightly widened. He didn't expect for her to confess so soon and for some reason, he didn't like it. "Right now?" she nodded. "At a party? Doesn't this seem like the wrong place for you to confess?" he asked.

Misty sighed. "Yeah I guess, but I can't take it anymore. I've been crushing on this guy for probably a month now and I just have to tell him. What should I say? Should I loosen my hair?" she asked.

Ash only chuckled. "Just be yourself, Mist. Don't be someone you're not and go for it," he urged. However, the more he was encouraging this, the more he didn't like it.

Misty nodded and inhaled, preparing herself. She gave herself a mental pep talk and brushed her hair with her fingers a few more times before she exhaled and walked towards Paul, who was in the corner, on his phone.

Ash watched from behind and was having mixed emotions right now. Dawn, who was behind him, walked to where Ash was and noticed his gaze and looked towards Misty and Paul, slightly widening her eyes in the process. She connected the pieces together. "Is Misty going to confess, Ash?" she asked once she was beside him.

Ash glanced towards her. "Yeah," he said, his voice sounding a bit sad, to which he didn't understand.

For some reason, Dawn wanted to eavesdrop, so she cleverly stood in a position with a drink in her hand where she wasn't easily noticeable while still in hearing distance. Ash followed Dawn and decided to eavesdrop as well, trying his best to be discreet.

"Paul?" Misty called as the plum-haired male looked behind him. Misty's heart was beating so loud that she was pretty sure she could hear it, despite the loud music. "Can I talk to you for a few?" Paul nodded, and she decided to sit beside him on the stool.

Paul watched her expectedly, waiting for her to say something.

"Well," she started, "Umm…I don't even know how to start."

Paul's onix eyes narrowed. "You should probably just cut to the chase."

That made Misty extremely nervous now. But, she took a deep breath and released it before she uttered the words, which made her both relieved and anxious now that they were out in the open. "I like you."

Paul's eyes widened. He was not expecting that. He noticed her chest heaving up and down, as if she was going to hyperventilate at any moment. He had no idea of what to say or even how to respond to something like this. Not one girl in his life had ever bluntly told him that and to be honest, he didn't expect anyone to have feelings for him. He was both surprised and unknowing of what to say.

"Oh."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That's all you have to say?"

He couldn't really blame her for that reaction. But in his defense, this was an awkward situation, especially since he didn't reciprocate her feelings. "I'm not sure what else to say…" he confessed.

Misty frowned, and she felt her heart dropped. "I've had a crush on you for like a month now," she said, her voice small.

Paul noticed she was disappointed. "Look, you probably won't like what I'm about to say right now, but it's the truth. I don't like you back and I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up. Plus…I'm not really looking into a relationship at the moment."

Misty nodded in understanding, despite her heart being shattered into pieces. "Thanks for being honest," she sighed sadly. "Hopefully we can still be friends, I guess." Paul could notice her voice breaking and that was when he felt guilty, but at the same time, he wondered why he felt that way, knowing that there was no point in giving her any false hopes.

Both Ash and Dawn were both relieved and yet sad for their friend. Dawn noticed Ash sighing a breath of relief. "Are you happy that Misty got rejected?" Dawn looked at Ash with bewilderment.

"'Course not, but…I don't know, it just doesn't feel right seeing Misty with Paul. I don't understand it myself. It's okay if you don't understand it."

Ash had no idea that Dawn felt the exact same way. "You should probably go talk to Misty," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Ash nodded as he walked away.

Sighing, Dawn walked towards Paul, who was now standing with his back facing towards him. Paul quickly turned around and walked forward, not seeing Dawn and bumped into her, spilling the drink she had in her hand and spilling it onto his shirt. Dawn placed a palm on her agape mouth.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry!" the blunette quickly exclaimed and grabbed a napkin and attempted to wipe off the stain on his shirt.

Paul was about to dismiss it off when he noticed how close they were together. He stood a few feet taller, but he still could notice a few details about her. He noticed her stop and she looked up to face him right in his onix eyes.

They hadn't been this close since that night when Paul had saved her from that accident.

Dawn stepped back, giving them distance. "You should probably clean that up or change your shirt."

"I don't have another shirt," Paul said. He recalled the shirt that he had given her when she had stayed over. "Do you still have my shirt from that night you stayed over?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'll give it back to you once I wash it. That got stained too…but it was May's little brothers' fault, not mine," she said, before he could come up with any accusations.

Still, Paul smirked. "Right," he said. He noticed the stain getting bigger and the shirt was just getting damper.

Dawn noticed he was messing with his shirt and instantaneously grabbed his hand, dragging him against his will, as she wandered about in one of the rooms. She realized she was probably disrespecting someone's privacy, but she felt guilty. She rummaged through one of the closets and managed to find another shirt.

"Here," she said, handing him a white collared shirt. "I'm hoping this will fit you."

Paul eyed her and then glanced at the shirt. "Don't you think someone would notice that their shirt is missing? I didn't realize you were a thief," he said.

Dawn groaned. "I'm sure Daisy will understand, I'll explain it to her that you bumped into me and I spilled my drink."

"The only reason I bumped into you was because you were standing directly behind me," he reminded her, before taking the shirt from her hands.

"Well, I didn't know you would turn around!" she retorted before she rendered herself speechless once he took off his shirt and too, right in front of her. She thought he would have gone to the bathroom to change shirts, but it seemed he thought otherwise.

He had been shirtless for about less than five seconds, but Dawn still managed to catch a glimpse of his average build. He didn't have any abs, but for some reason, his build managed to make heat rise up to her cheeks without her even knowing it.

Paul caught her expression in the mirror once he had placed the white shirt on. Dawn looked at him again and parted her lips in surprise. "You look good in white," she said absentmindedly and slightly widened her eyes after.

Paul looked in the mirror. The white shirt did compliment his dark purple hair and his complexion. "I guess I do."

* * *

 _ **Happy halloween, all!**_

 _ **This is a veryyy long chapter so I better get some dang good reviews, I think I deserve it at this point. So many things happened in this chapter and I'm so excited to hear what you guys think. I was just having so much fun writing this chapter and for some reason, I couldn't stop.**_

 ** _Well, hopefully you guys enjoyed cuz I enjoyed writing this...and my hands basically hurt but I don't care._**

 ** _This may or may not be my last update till late November. If I don't update in November, I'll probably update in January 2019. So yeah, no promises._**

 ** _See you next time!_**


	18. Smile

_**I'm back with an all new chapter! I can't wait for you guys to read this so I won't keep you.**_

* * *

Ash looked around frantically for Misty after she had run away, skipping past the crowd. He was extremely worried and was contemplating to ask her sisters about her disappearance. When he was about to turn around, he saw her exit from the bathroom, looking somewhat dull.

He walked to her, after sighing a breath of relief. "Thank goodness, I…" he trailed off, seeing a tear fall and spill onto her cheek. He put his hands on her shoulder. "Misty, it's okay. You don't need Paul. There are other guys out there."

Misty glanced up at Ash, her green cerulean eyes narrowing at him. "How would you know that? You've never dealt with rejection, have you? You've never even had a girlfriend!" she exclaimed angrily at the raven boy. She slightly gasped at her rude behaviour, but she couldn't blame herself. Her throat felt dry and her stomach dropped. She removed his arms and tried to walk away.

Ash didn't let her go and caught her wrist, pulling her back. "I'm just trying to make you feel better, Mist," he said, ignoring the insults she had thrown were just a part of her being hurt inside. "And yeah, I don't know what rejection feels like. But what I do know is that you shouldn't let it consume you, okay?"

Misty shook her head, remaining stubborn. "Just leave me alone, Ash. You won't understand," she said, refusing to look at him. Part of her knew she was probably being a bitch right now, but she had felt extremely low at this point. She didn't want Ash to see her in this vulnerable condition. "I'm fine," she lied.

Misty tried to pry her hand off from Ash's grip, but he just held it tighter. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing? Why do you even care about this?"

Ash wanted to laugh. "Come on Misty, you're really asking that question? I obviously care about you," he said. "And I'll tell you this again. Don't let this consume you. Paul just isn't the guy for you. To be honest, I didn't think Paul would be able to handle your antics anyway," he said, grinning mischievously.

"What's that supposed to mean, Ash Ketchum?" she asked, her voice raising eight octaves.

Ash chuckled. "Come on, you really think you and Paul would work out? Paul doesn't even talk much. How would he handle you when you're angry? I bet he'd just think you're pathetic," he said, in a joking manner.

Misty couldn't help but let out a stifle laugh. She looked at him, realizing how much he knew about her; which was a significant amount more than Paul ever knew during the past month. "Am I stupid for liking Paul?"

Ash let go of her wrist and smiled. "Of course not. Sometimes we like someone that we can't be with," he said, shrugging. "It doesn't always work out."

Misty sighed, letting out a small smile before reaching out to hug him. "Thank you," she said softly while Ash's heart was pounding heavily against his chest as he placed his arms around her waist. "I'll be okay, right?"

They let go and Ash nodded, grinning. "With such an awesome friend as myself, how can you not?" Misty rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly, slightly giggling in the process. Ash grinned and as she glanced at him again, she realized she was truly lucky for having a friend like Ash.

* * *

The rest of the party was uneventful and mainly consisted of talking and dancing. Gary and Leaf continued to dance and even managed to catch a slow dance. As for Drew and May, the brunette had quickly sat down after a few minutes of dancing and also because she was feeling a tad bit uncomfortable, adding to Drew's unfortunate luck. Though, he still made no effort to pry why she was acting this way.

Dawn watched Paul from across the room, sitting on one of the stools and fumbling with his phone. She kept eyeing the white shirt he had put on. She was accustomed to seeing Paul in dark and dull colours and most of the time, he'd wear sweatshirts, but to see him in a light colour was somewhat refreshing.

She briefly wondered if Paul would agree to dance with her. Then, she quickly rolled her eyes at the preposterous thought she had. _No way that's going to happen._

After a half hour, a slice of Daisy's birthday cake was passed around to all the guests and the party ended when the blonde began to make a final speech. "Thank you guys so much for celebrating my 25th birthday with me everyone. It means a lot. I hope you guys enjoyed yourself as much as I did!" she said and the crowd cheered in response.

A bit of chattering followed, and the large crowd began to get smaller as the guests started to leave. Just as Paul was about to exit, Daisy stopped him. "Hey, hold on a second!" Daisy exclaimed, effectively stopping the plum haired male.

Paul stiffened for a second or two, until he turned around to face her. He noticed her eyes were on his shirt. "Is that my dad's shirt?" she asked. Misty and Violet, who were currently cleaning up, looked towards Daisy's direction and approached her. "Why are you wearing my dad's shirt?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Before Paul could reply, he was cut off. "Uh, well, Paul's shirt got stained with soda and so I just gave him whatever I could find," Dawn said, scratching her hair sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind," she said, with a hopeful glint in her sapphire eyes.

"I'll return it as soon as I can." Paul added.

Daisy blew an angry breath and sighed. "Look, Dawn, the least you could have done is ask me before you just go in someone's room like that. You were invading privacy!" she retorted.

Dawn cringed. She thought she'd have been more understanding about the situation, but she did have a point. "You're right. Sorry, Daisy," the blunette apologized.

Daisy closed her eyes before letting out a small smile. She opened them. "Just make sure you return it," she said, her focus on Paul now, who simply nodded in response. "See you guys later," the blonde said before the two walked out as she closed the door behind them.

Dawn covered her mouth with a palm to prevent her from laughing out loud. Paul raised an eyebrow curiously. "What exactly is so amusing to you?" he asked with a flat tone within his voice, placing his hands in his pockets.

Dawn bit her lip after she removed her lip. "Oh, nothing. Daisy just sounded like a police officer interrogating someone, you know?" Paul rolled his eyes. "Anyway, did you enjoy yourself?" she asked.

He contemplated the question for a bit. If he had to admit to himself, it was a decent change of routine from his regular schedule of school and work most of the time. There were times where he was a bit uncomfortable during the party, but other than that, he couldn't really complain. "Minus the wild dancing and drinking…then sure," he admitted, which resulted in Dawn grinning widely.

"See? I knew you'd come around," Dawn said.

Before Paul could mutter something, the two turned their heads to May who was currently calling out to Dawn from a few feet away. "Hey! If you two are done, I'd like to take my best friend home!" she yelled, and even though she was a few feet away, Dawn could still notice a small teasing glint in her eye.

Dawn rolled her eyes and then glanced at Paul. "See ya," she said before walking away from him and towards May.

Paul said nothing and just watched as the blunette sat down in the vehicle. Soon after, he heard the vehicle's engine start before it was on the road.

* * *

 _ **Monday; October 25th; Lumoise High School; 3:45 p.m.**_

Leaf sat down on one of the benches placed outside of the school grounds, shaking her leg impatiently. She was waiting for Gary to come out of football practice and he was taking a bit longer than usual. He had mentioned to her prior that he wanted to introduce her to someone, and the curiosity was almost eating her alive.

Gary and she had been dating for almost two weeks now. During those two weeks, Leaf felt like she had gotten to know the real him underneath all the 'playboy' stereotype she had mistakenly took him for. Even though he was a bit egoistical, he was very humble and funny. Though, honestly, she'd laugh at anyone of his jokes no matter how corny they were. He was an avid sports fan and even though football was his favourite, he generally loved others like basketball and baseball.

Leaf checked her watch repeatedly for several minutes until she finally saw Gary exit the school building and walk towards her. She stood up and placed her hand on her hip. "Finally! I've been waiting for over a half hour now," she whined.

Gary chuckled. "Sorry, practice took longer than usual," he said before taking out his cell phone to check the time. "Anyway, she should be here any second," he said vaguely.

Leaf rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just tell me who I'm meeting?"

Gary formed a small smirk on his lips. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already, considering you assumed she was my girlfriend."

Leaf's cheeks reddened, adding to her embarrassment. She groaned slightly, connecting the pieces together. "I'm meeting your older sis?" he nodded in response. "Please don't tell me that you told her I thought she was your girlfriend. I'm still dreading that day," she said, continuing to whine.

Gary laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't. And even if I did, she wouldn't care. She's really chill," he explained.

Leaf was curious to know more. "What's she like?" she asked.

Gary shrugged. "Like any other sister should be; supportive, nice and a bit obnoxious," he added playfully.

Leaf rolled her eyes. She wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. "I wish I had a brother or a sister, it sucks being an only child," she said.

Gary gaped at her unbelievably. "Hell no, being an only child is awesome. Like for example, do you have your own room?" Leaf nodded in response. "See, I had to share a room with my sister for basically all my life before she moved out for college and that sucked ass. Plus, we'd always argue and attempt to kill each other," he chuckled at the memories of their constant brawls they used to have when they were younger.

Leaf frowned. "Well yeah, but at least you had someone to talk and relate to. I only have my dad and even though I love him to bits, it can get a little lonely when he's not around."

Gary cocked his head curiously at the brunette, a smile forming. "I guess you have a point there, Leafy," he said, noticing her scowl at the nickname again. He only laughed in response. "You are just too cute," he said before watching a crimson red tickling her cheeks. His eyes dropped to her lips and suddenly, Leaf's heart was on overdrive when he caressed her right cheek with his palm. Leaf closed her eyes in anticipation when he started to lean in.

A honk blasted, causing the couple to split apart. Gary mentally groaned. This was the second time he was interrupted. Then, he looked over to see his older sister exit from her vehicle and grinned.

Leaf watched curiously at the older brunette as she was approaching the two. She had long luscious blonde hair that were in curls as it cascaded down her back. Like Gary, she also had dark viridian black eyes, but that was the only similarity she could notice. Other than that, it was hard to tell they were siblings.

She approached Gary and gave him a smirk. "What's up, dirtbag?" she greeted him jokingly as Gary groaned. Leaf grinned; she already began to grow a liking to her.

"Could you _not_ call me that in front of my girlfriend, please?" the spiky haired male said in embarrassment.

Upon hearing that, the older blonde looked towards Leaf and grinned. "So, you're Leaf," she said, and she nodded in response. "It's nice to finally meet the girl Gary never shuts up about," she said before shaking Leaf's hand.

Gary face-palmed. "Really? You had to tell her that?" he said flatly, glaring at her.

Leaf giggled. "Don't worry, Gary, I'm actually flattered. It's nice to know I'm the center of attention in your eyes," she said, winking flirtatiously at him. Gary chuckled when he realized she was using his own words he had said to her a month ago against him.

Daisy laughed. "Aww you two are cute!" she squealed. "You picked a good one, Gary," she told him, slapping him on his shoulder playfully.

Gary chuckled. "Thanks, Daisy."

Leaf's eyes widened. "Wait, your name is Daisy too?" she asked and the older blonde nodded. "Oh, cuz Daisy's also the name of Misty's older sister. I'm not too sure if you know her. She celebrated her birthday not too long ago."

Daisy nodded in understanding and then grinned. "Funny story, we actually do know each other. We were roommates in college. We got along pretty well. And yeah, I heard about her birthday party, but I couldn't make it that day."

"That's so cool!" Leaf exclaimed.

Daisy nodded. "Mhm. Anyways, I'm dropping Gary home, do you want a ride home too?" she asked.

Leaf shook her head in response and waved her off. "Oh, no it's fine but thanks for the offer. My dad's picking me up," she said.

"Alright then, let's go dirtbag," she said towards Gary, who rolled his eyes.

He was about to follow Daisy when he realized he forgot something. "I'll meet you in the car," he quickly said before Daisy nodded as she went back to her car.

Leaf watched him curiously before he walked back into the school grounds, with her following him from behind. He entered one of the classrooms and she saw him exit after a few seconds after, now with his backpack around his back, indicating he had forgotten it.

He walked towards Leaf. "I'll see you tomorrow. Text me, okay?" he said before Leaf nodded. He was about to leave when she grabbed his arm, effectively making him stop.

He eyed her curiously and noticed her looking shyly on the floor. "Well," she said, her voice soft, "we kinda got interrupted when your sister showed up," she said, biting her lip. Gary watched her in slight shock, but slowly grinned. Leaf looked up at him, blushing slightly.

He got impossibly close to her and Leaf's heart was already on overdrive. He brought his palms and cupped her face gently, looking in her eyes for a split second before he closed his eyes, leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and immediately reciprocated, pressing her hand against his shoulder lightly. He tilted her head back slightly, so he could deepen the kiss. If anything, Leaf felt heat crawl every inch of her body, right up to her tiptoes.

They released to catch their breath and Gary rested his forehead against hers, grinning.

"That was amazing," she admitted, biting her lip shyly.

He brushed some of her strands behind her ear. "Indeed, it was, Leafy."

* * *

 _ **4:15 p.m.**_

May was currently sitting outside underneath a tree after finishing up her classes for today. She had texted Dawn earlier and asked her if she needed a ride home and was waiting for her reply. The brunette currently had her knees propped up as she buried her head in them, escaping a small sigh.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, she was a little worried she'd run into Brendan, despite blocking his number. She was _not_ looking forward to that and she sincerely hoped she wouldn't run into him again. Part of the reason she had moved from Hoenn to Kalos was to escape from his clutches. The mere fact that he was here again seemed to scare her a bit and she was constantly having paranoid thoughts.

Back in Hoenn, Brendan and she were neighbours. When she had first met him, she had developed a small, harmless crush on him. He was the very first guy that she genuinely had feelings for; he seemed friendly, funny and cute and the more she talked to him, the more her crush developed into something more. She'd feel her heart accelerating and her breaths getting shakier just by talking to him.

After a while, she finally mustered up the courage to reveal her feelings, despite being terrified of rejection; she was almost positive he wouldn't reciprocate. In fact, she had expected things to turn completely awkward. But to her pleasant surprise, he told her he had been secretly crushing on her as well. At that moment, May felt like she could soar through the clouds in happiness; she had been ecstatic to know the boy had returned her feelings.

Eventually, the two started dating. And during their dating phase, the brunette considered herself the luckiest girl alive to be with a guy as genuine as Brendan. She had shared her first kiss with him, which she considered to be magical at that time. She had shared all her secrets with him because she thought he was worth it. She had shared every small little detail to this guy.

She had been hopelessly in love with him.

However, like every roller coaster; like the darkness that came after the sun set and like every raindrop, her life came crashing down to pieces when she realized Brendan was not all who he made out to be.

One day, they were alone in his abode, with his parents out of town at that time. He had invited her to his room to work on assignments and May had only agreed after a bit of hesitation, as she had never been in his room, despite being over during the months that they were dating. It was a sign of trust.

And once she entered his room, it had been the biggest mistake in her life.

He had tried to force himself upon her sexually. And when she refused to give in, he didn't hesitate to physically and verbally abuse her either. She still remembered the foul and disgusting words, that malicious look in his eye and the somewhat evil smirk. She was extremely lucky she managed to escape.

Needless to say, that incident had traumatized the brunette for several weeks, no _months._ Even though she and Brendan had instantly broken it off, she was still left heartbroken and extremely scared. Never would she have thought that the guy she had been hopelessly in love with her would turn out to be so creepy and malicious; a complete phony. It was because of him that she became extremely depressed and she'd isolate herself from others, even her own family.

The Maple family tried to take action against Brendan but unfortunately, Brendan's father was a renowned lawyer in Hoenn and nothing much could be done. The most that was done in May's favour was a restraining order. But even then, she still didn't feel secure. That traumatizing incident of him almost raping her was still embedded in her memory.

Luckily, Norman had gotten a new job in Kalos. It was the perfect way for May to escape her past. And that was when they moved to Lumoise, conveniently where Dawn and Leaf were.

The brunette's thoughts had drifted away when she suddenly heard a voice call out to her. She looked up to see Drew standing above her. "What are you still doing here?" Drew asked. "It's late," he said.

Had she really been dwelling into her thoughts for _that_ long? May only blinked in response before she stood up. She opened her mouth to mutter a response, but she closed it when nothing came to her mind.

Drew noticed the worried expression on her face. "Is everything okay, April?" he asked.

May gaped at him incredulously. "I told you over a million times, my name is _May_!" she sneered.

That response got Drew to form a small smirk on his lips. He knew she'd react that way. "Well, finally you're not ignoring me."

She raised an eyebrow. "I was never ignoring you. I just…have a lot on my mind," she admitted.

Drew was aware of that. He was no ignorant fool to not notice she was probably battling something internally. And he wanted her to open up with him, but it was getting extremely difficult at this point. It didn't help that his feelings for her were just increasing by a mile every day. If he wanted to get close to May, he figured he'd have to start from scratch. "I understand," he said. He sighed, cringing internally on what he was about to do. "If you ever wanna talk, you can talk to me. We could be friends if you want," he said, both eagerly awaiting for her answer and cursing himself due to the reason that he had just friend zoned himself.

May looked at him, surprised at the offer. She never recalled getting close with a guy after Brendan. In fact, she'd avoid guys in general after that incident. But something told her that being friends with Drew wouldn't be so bad. Besides, she knew all guys weren't like Brendan. And she wanted to give him a chance.

She smiled. "Sure," she said softly.

Drew grinned. "Great. So, wanna grab a bite?"

* * *

 _ **4:31 p.m.**_

Paul walked into the library, nodding at Gretchen when she smiled at him while she was at her desk. He grabbed a random book in one of the bookshelves before walking in the interior of the library, where he saw Dawn sitting with a laptop in front of her eyes on the desk.

She didn't notice him until he was by her desk. "Oh hey," she said, flashing him a smile, closing her laptop.

He eyed her weirdly. "There's no math test coming up…so, what are you doing here?" he asked. To be honest, his words insinuated that he wanted her to leave, but that wasn't the case. He sat down on the chair placed across from her.

Dawn's jaw dropped as she formed a slight 'o' with her mouth. "I forgot. I guess I'm so used to coming here that I never know when not to," she said sheepishly. "Anyways, I've been applying for jobs; I applied to like seven different places just now."

Paul nodded, slightly satisfied that she took his advice. "Like what?"

Dawn shrugged. "They're mostly jobs like waitresses or jobs at retail, normal stuff. Oh," she added, "and I actually applied to Chancey Fancy," she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"The place I got fired from because of your friend," he confirmed. "Of course," he commented sarcastically, causing the blunette to escape a low giggle.

It had almost been a month since her mom had passed away. Dawn had never thought she'd ever be herself again. Even though she had supportive friends, she still felt alone for a while. Undecisive; lost; hopeless; but she was slowly getting back on track and finding her way. She still missed her mom a lot; so much that it'd hurt, but it was getting better. And she had her friends to thank for helping her throughout her struggles.

Gretchen was now at their desk and she looked towards the plum haired male with concern. "Hey Paul, I know your shift usually starts later, but there's a huge mess in one of the aisles, and I'm kind of busy with checking out books for students, so I was wondering if you could take care of it?" she asked.

With no hesitation, Paul simply nodded and stood up from his seat and was about to walk away when Dawn abruptly stood up as well. "I'll help!" she offered, and Paul looked at her incredulously, while Gretchen just stood there, a bit amused.

"Why?"

Dawn shrugged. "Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do," she said. "Plus, it can't be _that_ hard to stack books back in order, right? I did it before."

Gretchen nodded, not against the idea. "Right, I remember. Sure, you can help out, the more the merrier," she said, and Dawn had caught the playful smirk on her lips before she left the two.

Paul said nothing and just walked, with Dawn following him from behind. He wasn't sure why she insisted on offering him her help, but he wasn't against it. Usually he'd just do this alone, but it was comforting having someone with him.

A huge pile of books was lying around the floor, the bookshelf almost empty and while Dawn stood there in awe, Paul just looked at it nonchalantly and started to pick up the books. Dawn assumed he was used to this on a daily basis.

Paul looked at her curiously and noticed her expression. "What? Is this too much for you to handle?" he said, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

Dawn cleared her throat awkwardly and recomposed herself. "Of course not! I can handle anything that you dish out on me!" she said, confidently placing her hands on her hips.

Paul's smirk didn't falter. "You sure?"

Dawn scowled, noticing he was getting amused. "Of course I am!"

Paul nodded to himself, handing her a book to hold. "Okay then. You just hold the books while I stack them in alphabetical order," he instructed her.

Dawn raised her eyebrow. Somehow, she expected more of a challenge. "That's it?" she asked incredulously.

Paul nodded. "Oh yeah," he added. "And they shouldn't fall, otherwise you're doing this yourself," he quickly said.

Dawn scoffed. "This is going to be easy," she said, as Paul placed another book on top of the one she was already holding. For some reason, Paul took that as a challenge.

He deliberately kept stacking books for her to hold and he could notice her struggling a bit. There were only about five books that she was holding. He assumed that these weren't that heavy, so he intentionally placed three heavy hard cover books, almost causing the blunette to lose her grip. Her arms were slightly trembling. Paul smirked, getting a kick out of this.

"You sure that's not getting heavy?"

Dawn could hear the mocking tone in his voice. "Not at all," she said, even though she was lying. She could barely hold the books, but she had the dedication to just hold on for as long as possible, despite her tired arms.

He had eventually stacked all the books in Dawn's hands and was impressed she hadn't crumbled yet. He couldn't even see her face, as the stack of books practically hid it. "See?" he heard her say. "I told you I could hold all the books," she said.

Paul noticed the books weren't balanced properly and Dawn was attempting to fix the posture almost every second. His eyes wavered, as he got an idea. "I have to place the books on the bookshelf now," he said and deliberately grabbed a book from the middle of the stack that Dawn was holding.

As one would expect, all the books ended up dropping on the floor with a few thuds, leaving Dawn with her mouth agape and Paul with an amused expression. She glared at him knowingly. "You jerk! You did that on purpose!" she yelled.

"Did what?" he asked innocently.

"You purposefully took out a book from the middle, so the books would fall over!" she yelled at him again. "Just 'cause I was holding all the books, so you cheated and had to make it difficult for me! And now you're acting so damn innocent!"

She expected Paul to retort as always or just shrug it off, but what he did instead caught Dawn in absolute shock.

He smiled.

It was a genuine smile, not one of his usual smirks. Dawn had never seen him smile like this before and when he did, she forgot she had been yelling at him. If anything, seeing him smile caused her heart to flutter. It felt odd but satisfying to see him smile.

"I must say, it's enjoyable messing with you," he said, his smile slowly faltering. "But let's get back to work," he said, as he proceeded to pick up the books once again.

Dawn looked at him cryptically. What about the deal they had? "I thought you were going to make me do it by myself," she said.

He turned towards her. "Like I said before, I'm not _that_ big of a jerk," he said.

Dawn smiled shyly, brushing a few strands of her hair behind her hair before she began to help him pick up the books.

After about an hour, the bookshelf was finally stacked neatly in alphabetical order. She would never believe that stacking books would be a lot of work, but she was undoubtedly wrong. It was so time consuming, especially because they had to stack them in alphabetical order; not to mention, there were a lot of books.

Dawn walked back over to the desk and placed her bookbag behind her shoulders, when she suddenly realized she had forgotten to return Paul's shirt. She had washed it this morning and had placed it in her bag, so she quickly took it out and walked back to where Paul was. "Here's your shirt from that night I stayed over," she said, holding it out for him.

Paul was about to take the shirt when he noticed something. He looked at Dawn, who just kept her gaze on him. "Do you not notice anything odd about the shirt?" he asked, briefly wondering how he wouldn't notice such a drastic change.

Dawn looked at the shirt before she dramatically gasped. "It's pink!" she cried in horror. "How did that happen?!"

"Did you wash it with coloured clothes?"

Dawn cringed. "Was I not supposed to do that?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" he commented sarcastically. "Whatever, just keep it."

"What? I can't keep your shirt," she quickly said.

"Why not? It's your colour now and like I said before, I was going to burn it anyways," he said with a nonchalant expression and Dawn didn't know if he was being serious or not. "It's fine, I have plenty of other shirts anyways."

Dawn simply folded the shirt, sighing in defeat. Why did she have to make a stupid mistake like that? "Alright," she said, stuffing the shirt in her backpack. "Anyways, I'll see you later. And since we didn't do any math today, maybe you can text me a few problems? It felt weird not doing any school work with you."

He shrugged. "Alright."

"And when I say text, I mean it. Whenever I text you, you end up calling me and it's so annoying!" she cried. "If I wanted to call you, don't you think I would?"

Paul rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was having a conversation about a topic like this. "Texting is time-consuming. Calling is much more easier and saves the time," he explained. Even Reggie was annoyed by this and he had only just gotten a cell phone. But in his defence, he couldn't be bothered with texting since he was always almost busy with work.

"Of course you'd think that," Dawn muttered sarcastically. "Anyways, see ya," she said before Paul simply nodded at her, watching her leave from sight.

Paul realized he was getting more comfortable with Dawn each and every day; to the point where it was almost unbelievable. For some reason, he was no longer annoyed with her and instead enjoyed insulting and messing with her whenever he had a solid opportunity. He no longer felt like he couldn't open up to her; he felt like he could tell anything at all and she'd understand perfectly.

And truth be told, he was growing rather…fond of her.

* * *

 ** _2:34 a.m; Paul's Residence._**

 _The icy cold wind pierced the figure's skin as the figure nonchalantly made his way over to his vehicle. The night was pitch dark; with the moon's light illuminating from above setting light to the night sky._

 _He closed the vehicle's door behind him when he got into the driver's seat. Soft music was playing on the radio as he started the car, strumming his fingers in a rhythmic motion as he sped on the road._

 _He noticed a car swivel suddenly towards his lane. A bright and blinding light flashed in his direction, causing him to cringe slightly. He quickly attempted to change lanes, but there wasn't enough time. It all happened so fast._

 _The impact was so penetrating, he felt like he could be shattered into pieces. The metal of the car groaned as if it was the final cry of some wounded beast. The vehicle's front end had been ploughed and the steering wheel and dashboard had hit his forehead, causing blood to escape. The pain was becoming excruciating and now his vision was slowly crumbling, as the world slowly turned into black._

Reggie sprung up from his bed with shaky breaths, his heart beating at a rapid rate. Sweat had escaped his pores and spilled onto his forehead. He ran his hand through his purple locks, extremely confused.

His breathing slowed as he tried to calm himself. He removed his bedsheets before walking into the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass of water to cool himself off.

 _What was that? A nightmare?_ He thought. For some reason, it seemed like he was experiencing déjà vu, after all, it was _him_ in this supposed nightmare. _It couldn't have been a nightmare_ , he reasoned. His eyes slowly widened. Was that how he ended up in a coma?

He sat down on one of the chairs in the living room, to process his thoughts. He hadn't recalled anything before the coma, especially _how_ he got into the coma. Was this a sign of some sort?

He closed his eyes again, recalling the vision he just had, going back to the impact of the crash, his head being hit harshly, the bright light, the car that swivelled towards his direction, the person in the car-

His eyes opened again. _No, it couldn't be…hell no._

He had seen dark blue locks just before the car had crashed into his.

* * *

 _ **Woah. That just happened. What do you guys think? Was it Dawn that crashed into the car? Let me know what you think. Also, let me know if Paul is out of character in this chapter. Personally, I don't think so...I would say it's character development, I'm sure Paul has smiled at least once in the anime...it's not that farfetched. And besides, this is the 18th chapter.**_

 _ **In other news, LGE/P got released today. Are any of you guys buying the games? I personally am not interested in these games and it's just not worth sixty bucks in my opinion and even then I don't own a switch. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're fun, it's just not targeted for me hence I'm not interested.**_

 _ **This is probably going to be my last update for this year, so...happy early thanksgiving, Merry early Christmas and happy early new year!**_

 _ **See you next time!**_


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